Launch: Internships And Summer Research Programs in Biology and Environmental Science

As a major in a biological or environmental sciences you have many career options open to you. How can you best decide which option or options to pursue? Consider doing an internship and/or an undergraduate research experience, as these professional development opportunities can help you with your career discernment and career preparedness. Internships and research programs provide real-world experience and opportunities to apply what you learn in the classroom to a professional setting. They can also represent important professional development and networking opportunities. The Department of Biological Sciences encourages all students to pursue an internship and/or research experience during their undergraduate years.

Semester and Summer Internships & Co-ops

Internships can include working in a variety of professional settings, such as biotech/pharma companies, environmental and conservation nonprofit organizations, educational, government and nonprofit scientific policy & advocacy organizations. Students can choose to pursue a part-time internship during a regular academic semester (i.e., in parallel to their studies) or during the summer months. Both semester (part-time) and summer internships may qualify towards earning academic credit through the BIOL/INES 3986 (0 cr) & BIOL/INES 4987 (3 cr) course mechanism.

Alternatively, students may opt to pursue a full-time internship or “co-op” during a regular academic semester and not take any classes that semester. A full-time, semester internship/co-op may qualify towards earning academic credit through the BIOL/INES 3987 (0 cr) & BIOL/INES 4987 (3 cr) course mechanism. Enrolling in BIOL/INES 3987 allows a student to maintain their full-time student status during their co-op semester and they would have the option to earn academic credit by completing their BIOL/INES 4987 (3 cr) course in a subsequent semester.

Undergraduate research experiences

For the purposes of earning academic credit, (research or internship credit), the Department of Biological Sciences places undergraduate research experiences in two different categories, (i) Marquette faculty mentored, and (ii) non-Marquette faculty mentored research experiences.

  • Marquette faculty mentored research experiences: If you are performing research with a Marquette faculty mentor e.g. in the Department of Biological Sciences (i.e., as an independent study student, or as a participant in the department’s summer research program), you can apply these experiences towards earning academic credit. For an independent research experience during a regular academic semester, speak with your faculty mentor about the possibility of completing a research credit (BIOL 4956(H), 3 cr) experience. If you are participating in our department’s summer research program, you have the option to complete BIOL 9002(H) (0 cr) during the summer and you may be eligible to earn either research or internship credit through the BIOL 4956(H) (3 cr) or BIOL/INES 4987 (3 cr) mechanisms (to be taken in a subsequent semester). For more information on research opportunities in the Department of Biological Sciences and our summer research program – visit our undergraduate research website.
  • Non-Marquette faculty mentored (i.e. at another campus) research experiences: If you are performing research at a university or research institution other than Marquette, e.g. as a participant of a formal summer research program, or of a semester-long research experience at a neighboring institution, e.g. Medical College of Wisconsin, you can apply through the Launch Internship program to have these experiences approved towards earning BIOL or INES internship credit using the BIOL/INES 3986(H) (0 cr) & BIOL/INES 4987(H) (3 cr) mechanism.

The Launch Biological and Environmental Sciences Internship Program is a mechanism to allow undergraduate majors in the Department of Biological Sciences to earn biology (BIOL) or environmental studies (INES) course credit for relevant internship or off-campus research program experiences. Students participating in an approved internship or summer research program as demonstrated by enrollment in BIOL/INES 3986/7(H), can opt to enroll in an elective course BIOL/INES 4987(H): Applying the Internship Experience. This is a 3-credit seminar-style course, which meets 1x/week and focuses on career preparedness and encourages students to reflect on and communicate the skills and knowledge that they have gained during their internship experience. For more information on internships and how to earn academic credit for your experience please visit our Launch: internship information for students webpage

Current and Past Launch Internships

  • Immunology Research Intern and Lab Intern at the Blood Research Institute

  • Project Manager - Patent Marketing with The Commons

  • Research Intern at the Milwaukee Public Museum

  • Intern at Milwaukee Public Health Laboratories

  • Research Intern at Strong Microbials

  • Urban Farmer at Victory Garden Initiative

  • Junior Advisor at Global Health Coalition

  • Communications Intern at the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District (MMSD)

  • Citizen Science and Research Intern at the Urban Ecology Center

  • Evaluating Hands-On Education at Discovery World

  • Animal Care and Training Intern at Oceans of Fun

  • Toxicology Intern at Milwaukee Crime Lab

  • Research Intern at Blood Center of WI

  • Genetic Counselor Intern at MCW PURE


 

For more information about the Launch Program and the requirements to earn academic credit for your internship, contact:

Dr. Rosemary Stuart
Launch Internship Director

Wehr Life Sciences, 309
rosemary.stuart@marquette.edu