The School of Biological Sciences' Internship Courses
A Biology internship is a supervised job, usually lasting a semester or two, where students receive direct, hands-on training in a professional setting where they can apply biology-related knowledge and skills gains through coursework. These experiences can provide valuable job skills and a preview of the types of careers available to Biology majors upon graduation.
Securing an Internship
Internships are available from many different sources including, local government, academia, and industry groups. The School of Biological Sciences works with local partners like Birds Georgia, the CDC, GT Environmental Health and Safety, GTRI Occupational Safety and Health Programs, Piedmont Hospital, and local biotechnology companies, to advertise open positions directly to biology majors. These opportunities are posted in the Biology Majors Portal. Though many highly sought after internships are only advertised through specific organization websites and are very competitive (Zoo Atlanta, Georgia Aquarium, Fernbank Museum, Atlanta Botanical Garden, GBI Forensic Science). Many internships are advertised nationwide through major job search engines like Indeed.com and Handshake. Planning ahead is important because application deadlines and interviews will often operate well ahead of course registration.
Please contact Alison Onstine with questions about registering an internship for credit or audit. Internships can be registered during Phase 1 or Phase 2. Please reach out as soon as possible, as some paperwork may be required.
Internship Courses
Internship for Credit: BIOS 4695
- Unpaid
- Authentic job training in a biology-related field*
- Coursework assessments include a mid-term and final report
- Can be taken for a letter grade (Recommended) or pass/fail
- 1 credit hour = 3 internship hours per week or 45 hours across the semester.
- Students typically enroll in 1 to 3 credits
- Can be taken for credit multiple times
- Up to 6 credit hours of BIOS 4695 can be used as Biology breadth electives
- BIOS 4695 credits can be used as free electives
* To receive course credit for an internship experience, students must be involved in authentic, hands-on, job-related training in a biological or biologically related organization. These are positions directly related to career goals and leverage skill and knowledge gained through required coursework. Unfortunately, this does not include internships where the primary duties involve observing (shadowing) or performing administrative or managerial tasks.
Internship for Audit: BIOS 4694
- Paid or unpaid
- No coursework assessments required
- No academic credit will be granted
- No tuition will be charged
- All types of biology-related internships are accepted
- Internship will appear on the student’s transcript
- Can be taken for audit multiple times
- Audit hours can be used to establish full time student status for certain scholarships (check with financial aid case-by-case)
- The Career Center offers a separate internship audit course option for internships that are not biology-related.
Related Programs
Georgia Tech's Undergraduate Co-op Program is an academic program in which students alternate semesters as a full-time student with at least 3 semesters of full-time work. In addition to providing experiences outside of academia, the Co-op program can provide the student with full-time research work within a Georgia Tech faculty member’s lab if the faculty member is agreeable. Biology majors participating in the Co-op program must plan course schedules very carefully, since courses required for a degree in Biology may not always be offered during the at-school semester.
