Internships

Internships provide an excellent opportunity for students to apply their school learning to real-world experiences. They allow students to explore different areas of interest, and post-graduation, they are the best way to find a quality job. We encourage our students to have at least one internship during their Skidmore career, and the more internships, the better. Students can earn credit for internships, as described below.  For unpaid summer internships, Skidmore provides several competitive funding opportunities.

Internships for credit

Students who wish to earn credit for their internships can do so through the Office of Academic Advising. Credit-bearing internships require both an on-site supervisor, who monitors the practice of the internship, and a faculty sponsor, who adds an academic component to the internship. Internships taken for academic credit require a strong academic center. The amount of academic work assigned by the faculty sponsor should be commensurate with the number of credit hours earned during their internship and the level of the internship (ES 299 versus ES 399).

Funding opportunities for summer internships

Several Skidmore offices, groups, departments, and programs provide competitive summer funding, including the ESS Program. A wide variety of experiences qualify for these funds, including internships, volunteer opportunities, research, community service projects, apprenticeships, and more.  

Details about the Summer Experience Fund can be found here.

Details about a new internship opportunity with The Soil Inventory Project (TSIP) can be found here.

Fields of Interest

Individual internship opportunities are too numerous to list.  Below are listed some of the broad fields where ESS students work.  For many of these, there are opportunities in Saratoga Springs and the surrounding area to get involved with local groups and initiatives.  If a local internship opportunity sounds appealing but you would like a summer internship closer to home, you can try to find a similar organization or office in your area.

• Agriculture, Food, and Farming
• Conservation
• Education / Outdoor Leadership
• Energy
• GIS, Planning, and Development
• Government and Public Policy
• Research
• Sustainability
• Water and Soil Quality

Alumni resources

We have a network of ESS alumni who work in a variety of fields and can serve as a valuable resource for current Skidmore students.  To get a sense of the range of work our graduates do, you can check out "Where Our Graduates Have Gone."  

The Skidmore Environmental Studies and Sciences group on LinkedIn is a good way to get in touch with alumni as well as find out about job openings, graduate assistantship opportunities, and internships.  There is also a Facebook group, Environmental Studies at Skidmore College, which includes both current students and alumni who were part of the Environmental Studies and Sciences Program.