Internships and Jobs

Wheaton Internships

The following list provides examples of the types of internships geology students pursue as part of their undergraduate coursework. Internship experiences typically have strong influence in shaping post-graduate decisions and greatly enhance a student's resume.

Wheaton College Sponsored Research Internships

Geology and Environmental Science majors may apply for a Wheaton College summer researcher grant to collaborate in a faculty research project. The grant includes a stipend and free campus housing for ten weeks during the summer. Alternatively, students with this grant have traveled abroad with their professor to complete a project.

Examples of student-faculty collaborative research with the summer grant include joint projects with Wheaton College Biblical Archaeology expeditions to Israel, development of new groundwater monitoring techniques, studies of sea level change using satellite imagery, surveying natural resources and waste disposal practices in developing nations of Eastern Europe and Africa, mapping agricultural irrigation practices and crop yields, and glacial and post-glacial stratigraphy of a mastodon discovery site.

Some project summaries are reported here.

International HNGR Internships

Wheaton's Human Needs and Global Resources program is available to selected students who prepare for and complete a six-month internship in developing countries around the world providing hands-on training and experience while giving them opportunities to use their skills and knowledge in service to some of the world's poorest communities. Faculty advisors and sponsoring agencies help the student develop research or service projects which have included crop preservation in Bangladesh, erosion assessment and soil quality in Ghana, Honduras, and the Philippines, effects of deforestation on water resources at a national park in Honduras, water resource development and management in Ethiopia, South Africa, Tanzania, and Nicaragua, and land-use analysis in Uganda and Zaire. Find more information on HNGR here.

Internship And Job Sites

Off-Campus Summer Internship Opportunities

Ethan Paul at the University of South Carolina researching geochronology Geology and Environmental Science majors have successfully secured summer research internships at other universities and institutions. Many federally funded research grants to university faculty require the engagement of undergraduates who are invited to apply from accredited schools like Wheaton College (known as Research Experiences for Undergraduates, REU). Recently our students have spent summers at Johns Hopkins University, University of Minnesota, New York City Museum of Natural History, University of Nebraska, regional offices of the United States Geological Survey, and National Parks.

Some project summaries are reported here.

Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)

Funded by NSF and offered through universities nationwide, these competitive research opportunities cover a wide variety of topics in Geology and Environmental Science and many provide stipends, travel expenses, and lodging. Also check listings under Ocean Sciences as some relate to geology. You may apply to as many REU opportunities as you like. Application deadlines vary for each listing.

Geocorps America

Provided through the Geological Society of America, these internships on federal lands such as the National Park Service, National Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management. They provide hands on experience in geologic mapping, paleontological excavations, museum curation, GIS mapping, or hazard assessment as well as stipends and sometimes lodging. To apply for these internships you must have a GSA membership, and you may only apply to up to three internships.

Student Conservation Association

These internships provide a range of different opportunities from working on prescribed burns, being an interpreter at a national park, working with education programs, and trail maintenance. Many involve environmental issues and environmental education. If you haven't had many geology or environmental science courses yet, but still want to go out into the field this summer, these are great opportunities.

NASA Undergraduate Internship

NASA internships are highly variable and some involve computer modeling, science journalism, planetary geology, or other earth and environmental science topics. There are many listings with various deadlines. Some have rolling acceptance so earlier applications are better. Search all NASA internships here.

Science Undergraduate Laboratory Partnership

SULI provides undergraduate students 10-week research opportunities at one of seventeen US Department of Energy laboratories (including Fermi Lab or Argonne National Laboratory - which are both nearby). Housing or a housing allowance is provided, travel is reimbursed, and there is a $500/week stipend.