How It Works
The duration,
location, rate of pay, criteria for evaluation, scope of experience, time
and place of periodic meetings, and number of credits to be earned for the
internship are arranged by the intern faculty coordinator and the agency
supervisor. Student selection for internships is generally made by the
agency supervisor in consultation with the faculty coordinator. Criteria for
selection include completion of summer camp, junior or senior standing,
number of upper level courses completed in the major by the end of the
junior year, grade point, and previous experience. There are three general
types of internships: (1) contract, (2) non-contract, and (3) volunteer.
Each intern student must have a supervising CNR faculty member in the
student's discipline who agrees to coordinate the internship at the
university.
(1) A contract internship includes internships where the agency contracts (a
training or work contract is developed) with UWSP for the student's wages.
In this type of internship the student is paid directly through UWSP's
payroll office and the agency is billed for wages at the end of the
internship. The student must be registered for intern credits during the
period he or she is being paid through the university. There is a small
administrative fee of $50 charged to the agency.
(2) In a non-contract internship the student is paid directly by the agency
for the work performed during the internship.
(3) In a volunteer internship the student is not paid by the agency or
university, however in some cases such as the US Forest Service, a small
daily per diem may be paid directly to the student by the agency. Most of
these internships are selected for convenience reasons eg. they are close to
their parents home, or they are in a unique area of the country eg. Alaska.
The duration of these positions may be less than a standard internship and
therefore may be offered for less academic credit.
Most internships are summer positions, and application forms are available
during a general information and position announcement meeting held during
the spring semester by each faculty intern supervisor. Applications are then
screened by the intern and agency supervisors and assignment made. For a 12
week summer internship students generally register for 3 credits during the
summer and 3 credits during the fall. The number of credits is adjustable
depending on the rigor and duration of the internship. All students must
register for summer intern credits or they will not be paid.
For cooperative education positions or internships involving rigorous
research or on-the-job training during the fall or spring semester the
student can register for up to 12 credits. A student may not sign up for
more than 12 intern credits. Intern courses included in the program are
Natural Resources 381, Forestry 381, Soils 381, Water 381, or Wildlife 381
(Methods and Experiences in Natural Resources, or Forestry, or Soils, or
Water, or Wildlife).
Final grades for the internship credits are based primarily on the
employer's and intern supervisor's evaluations of performance and the final
product or report which are usually required as part of the internship. In
addition, to help maintain and upgrade the quality of the intern program,
interns are required to evaluate their experience and the intern program in
general. To avoid misunderstanding, procedures and policies are described in
detail on forms sent to both intern and employer.