The School of Biological Sciences' Internship Program
The School of Biological Sciences operates an internship program with opportunities specifically for Biology majors. These opportunities are with local government, academia, and industry groups and will provide each intern with direct, hands-on experience in how a Biology degree can be used to obtain employment upon graduation. Current partnerships exist with the Atlanta Audubon Society, CDC, Georgia Tech’s Environmental Health and Safety, the Army Defense Forensic Science Center, Fernbank Science Center and Museum, GTRI Occupational Safety and Health Programs, Piedmont Hospital, Zoo Atlanta, and local biotechnology companies, among many others.
Internships can be registered during Phase 1 or Phase 2 registration, although employment application deadlines will often operate ahead of course registration. Once a student has an internship offer in hand, they need to contact Dr. Emily Weigel to request a permit for registration. Students may register for credit as either a free elective (BIOS 2695; prior to junior status) or Biology breadth elective (BIOS 4695; once junior status is achieved). Note that BIOS 4695 may be used for up to 6 credit hours of biology breadth electives, but additional credits may be used as free electives. Students may also register for audit/pay (BIOS 2698/4698) to have an ungraded internship simply appear on their transcript.
New opportunities will be posted as they become available on Canvas via the Biology Majors Portal, and students should customize their applications to follow the instructions and deadlines for each particular internship posting. In certain cases, students may register an internship that they identify on their own for credit, even if the internship is not currently part of the Biology Internship Program. To receive course credit for an internship experience, students must be involved in authentic job-related training in a biological or biologically-related organization, and not primarily performing administrative and managerial duties. For questions about the internship positions, please refer to the internship postings on the Biology Majors Portal Canvas site or contact Dr. Emily Weigel.
The Institute's Cooperative and Internship Programs
Cooperative Education, or "Co-op," is a unique partnership among employers, students and the university whereby students work in paid, planned and supervised work experiences in business, industry, education, and government while earning academic credit. Georgia Tech's Cooperative Education Program is a five-year academic program in which students alternate semesters as a full-time student with 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. This will be more of a problem when the at-school semester occurs during the summer semester.
The Undergraduate Professional Internship (UPI) Program provides practical work experience in a professional setting, on-campus or off-campus, related to the student's field of study. Internships are a partnership among students, employers, and the Georgia Institute of Technology. Internships are single-semester, paid, major-related work experiences designed to help students understand the "real world" applications of their academic studies. Opportunities are available during summer, fall, and spring semesters and require a commitment of full-time employment for a minimum of 18 weeks during the spring and fall semesters or 12 weeks during the summer semester. To contact the UPI office, email intern@dopp.gatech.edu.
