BLA Internships

Undergraduate students can earn course credit for professional office experience under the supervision of registered landscape architects or related practitioners, such as architects, engineers, and planners. A minimum of twelve weeks of full-time employment is required. The LAND 4700 internship is worth eight credit-hours.

Requirements

• Approval: In order to register for an internship, the student must complete Form #1, (Internship Registration Form). Approval will be given from the Intern Coordinator based upon the type of work the student will be involved in, an estimate of duties and the duration of the internship. Form #1 is available in Room 602, Caldwell Hall. LAND 4701 and LAND 4702 require the approval of the resident advisor and the intern coordinator.
• Supervisor: During the internship, a person in the office of employment must act as your official supervisor and will submit to the intern coordinator an evaluation of your performance.
• Report: A report and Internship Employee/Employer evaluations are the basis for assigning a grade.
• Registration: A student must register for the course during the semester they are doing the internship. (Credit hours may not be added after internship is completed.
• Credit and Grade: Credit for the courses will be given after the student has presented his/her report on work activities. A Grade of S (satisfactory) or U (unsatisfactory) will be given for eight hours credit.
• Who May Receive Credit: All students, in the undergraduate program, at the School of Environmental Design may receive credit for an internship.
• When to Take an Internship: Students will be required to take the internship during the summer semester. Students will not seek internship experience before their third year of study since productive work in an office requires certain skills.
• Placement: The School will assist students requesting help in placement for internship experience. Watch the intern bulletin board for notices and check e-mail often. Students are advised that offices cooperating in the internship program may not be in a position to pay a salary since the student will be working as an apprentice. Students arranging their own placement may negotiate a salary if they wish, but are advised that satisfactory credit (S) will only be given when evidence is submitted that the student received a broad range of experience during the internship. The approval form must be submitted to the Intern Coordinator for approval before employment begins (Form #1). Failure to do so will invalidate the internship and no credit will be given.
• The Experience: While it is not practical to list the precise range of experiences which a student might gain through an internship, approval for a prospective internship program will only be given if it appears from discussion with the intern and employer that a wide range of activities will be observed and participated in by the student. The Internship Final Report will be supportive of this experience. Ideally, a student will be involved in some if not all of the following experiences in an office: client conference, briefing, programming, project research, site visits for analysis, evaluation and field work, preparation of sketch plans, presentation of projects to clients, preparation of working drawings and specifications, letting of bids, contract negotiation, contract supervision, site visits for supervision, preparation of reports, conferences with consultants, public authorities and contractors.