Internship Guidelines

About the Internship
Graduate students enrolled course based programs in their home unit degree are required to do an internship as part of the Environmental Studies Collaborative Specialization. The purpose of the internship is to provide students with professional work experience involving environmental issues related to their program of study and research. The internship is designed to offer master's degree students from various academic backgrounds an opportunity to expand their interdisciplinary experience at the practical level and turn their theoretical knowledge into practical skills. The experience may be either paid or on a voluntary basis and off-campus internships are strongly recommended for students to gain practical experience.  
Enrolling in the Internship
Students Enrolled in Programs with Internship Component  
  • Internships completed within the student's home program can count towards the Collaborative Specialization internship requirement so long as the internship contains an environmental component.   
Students Enrolled in Programs Without an Internship Component  

  • Students who do not have an internship component built-in their home degree can register in ENV4444: Internship.   

  • The School of the Environment offers ENV4444H (0.5 FCE) in both the Fall and Winter sessions and ENV4444Y (1.0 FCE) in the summer session.    

  • ENV4444H is approximately 20 hours per week and ENV4444Y is approximately 40 hours per week. Please consult the Collaborative Specialization requirements for your home program to determine whether you should enroll in the H or Y section of this course.  

  • To enrol in ENV4444H/Y, send your internship role, location and description of duties to the School's Graduate Administrator and they will assist with adding the course to your record.   

  • The approval of the ENV4444 internship placement is done in consultation with the School of the Environment’s Graduate Associate Director prior to commencing the internship activity. 
Internship Completion
Upon completion of the internship, a written assessment of the student’s performance by the Internship supervisor is required for the student to receive credit. This should be one page or less in length and should be written on the organization’s letterhead and addressed to the Graduate Administrator at the School of the Environment. Internships for ENV4444H/Y are evaluated based on credit/non-credit. 

A co-op work permit is required for international students who enrol in ENV4444H/Y, regardless of whether the internship is paid or unpaid. Please contact the School's Graduate Administrator for more information. 

Resources for Finding an Internship
Internship Exemption

Students with relevant environmental work experience gained prior to starting the Environmental Studies Collaborative Specialization may be exempted from their internship requirement with approval from the School of the Environment’s Graduate Associate Director, and the home department’s Graduate Chair.

To make this request, fill out and submit the Internship Exemption Form and a letter to the School of the Environment’s Graduate Team outlining relevant work experience, and supporting documentation from the organization for reviewal.