Campus Pre-Professional Experiences
If you are unable to find a paid internship, research experience, or part-time natural resources job right away, don’t give up. You can get additional experience on campus. Get to know faculty, graduate students, and staff. Go to office hours. Ask questions. Don’t be afraid to be interested and enthusiastic. If you’re intimidated by face-to-face contact with a total stranger, give them a call or send them an email first. Scan through faculty websites and talk to teaching assistants and advisors to find out who is doing the kind of work that interests you. Then talk to those professors or graduate students to find out if they could use a volunteer on their research project. Again, it gets your foot in the door and is valuable experience.
If you wish to earn academic credit for this experience, independent study (RNR 299, 399 and 499) or directed research (RNR 292, 392, or 492) units are for students working directly with university faculty either on or off campus. To enroll, fill out the independent study/directed research proposal form with your advisor for the project.
Online Resources to Find Jobs & Internships
Undergraduate Biology Research Program: This program provides paid opportunities for students to participate in self-directed biological related research in a lab with a faculty mentor. Student projects involve inquiry, design, investigation, research, scholarship, discovery, and the presentation of experimental results. Program benefits include research training and acquiring the tools needed to be successful in post-graduate studies in biology through:
- A full-time summer research apprenticeship, with the option to continue in the project part-time during the academic year
- Weekly professional development sessions
- Presentation of experimental results at the annual research program conference
- Optional field trips, community service opportunities, and social events
Undergraduate Research Opportunities Consortium: The Graduate College sponsors a consortium of eight summer undergraduate research opportunities that are collectively known as Undergraduate Research Opportunities Consortium (UROC). The application for UROC can be accessed here and the deadline is Feb. 1. The website offers brief descriptions of each program and eligibility criteria vary, so please read carefully. Program benefits include excellent research training and graduate school preparation through:
- An intensive 10-week research experience under the guidance of a faculty mentor
- Professional development and graduate admission workshops
- A free professional GRE workshop and encouragement to take the GRE during UROC
- Social opportunities and a support network of like-minded peers
- Poster session, oral presentation, and abstract writing.
- Financial support includes 6 units of research credit for summer research and a $4000 stipend.
Links to Jobs & Internship Listings
- Follow Conservation Jobs @ConservJobBoard on Twitter
- Alaska Conservation Foundation: http://alaskaconservation.org/internships/
- American Fisheries Society: https://jobs.fisheries.org/
- American Geophysical Union Job finder. AGU galvanizes a community of Earth and space scientists that collaboratively advances and communicates science and its power to ensure a sustainable future.
- Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (volunteer): https://www.desertmuseum.org/about/volunteer.php
- Association of Zoos and Aquariums: jobs in Zoos and Aquariums
- Association of Minority Zoo and Aquarium Professionals: Training related to zoo careers
- AZ Game and Fish - Internship program
- AZ Game and Fish-- Employment
- Conservation Careers Jobs
- Internships and volunteer opportunities
- Conservation Job Board - Find Conservation & Environmental Jobs: https://www.conservationjobboard.com/
- Conservation and Land Management Internship Program: http://www.clminternship.org/
- Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news. You must sign up for the listserv to receive the job and graduate assistantship listings.
- Ecoevojobs.net 2019-2020
- http://ecophys-jobs.org/grad.html This list has graduate assistantships, internships, and technician positions for a range of fields.
- The Institute for Bird Populations: https://www.birdpop.org/pages/jobs.php
- Marine Conservation Biology Institute: https://marine-conservation.org/work-with-us/#internship
- Master Naturalist Program: https://azmasternaturalist.org/
- Missouri Botanical Garden: http://www.mobot.org/hort/edu/opps.shtml
- The National Wildlife Federation: https://www.nwf.org/Home/About-Us/Careers
- NEON - The National Science Foundation's NEON is a 30+ year project dedicated to collecting and providing open access continental-scale data to better understand how our nation's ecosystems are changing. https://jobs.battelle.org/job-search-results/?keyword=NEON
- NOAA Sea Grant: https://seagrant.noaa.gov/Students/Internships
- Open Channels: Sustainable Ocean Management & Conservation: https://www.openchannels.org/jobs
- Ornithological Jobs: http://ornithologyexchange.org/jobs/board/
- Pathways Project-Federal Jobs for students and recent graduates: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/students/
- Point Blue Conservation Science: https://www.pointblue.org/about-us/careers/
- Sabino Canyon (Docent): https://sabinonaturalists.org/
- SEVENSEAS Media: https://sevenseasmedia.org/ocean-jobs/
- SCA (Student Conservation Association): http://www.thesca.org/serve/internships
- The Society for Conservation Biology--SCB Job Database: http://www.conbio.org/jobs/
- Society for Range Management: http://rangelands.org/job-listings/
- SWCA: https://www.swca.com/careers
- Texas A&M Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences Job Board: http://wfscjobs.tamu.edu/job-board/
- USAJOBS - The Federal Government's Official Jobs Site: https://www.usajobs.gov/
- Water Jobs: http://www.joshswaterjobs.com/
- Watershed Management Group
- WaterWRLD internship program
- WhaleFISH--Clearinghouse for marine biology internships: https://www.whalefish.org/career-support
- The Wildlife Society Job board: http://careers.wildlife.org/home/index.cfm?site_id=8764
Arizona Agencies and Organizations
American Museum of Natural History
P.O. Box 16553
Portal, AZ 85632
Apache-Sitgraves National Forest
Lakeside Ranger District, 2022 W.
Lakeside, AZ 85929
Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch
HC 1 Box 44
Elgin, AZ 85611
Arizona Department of Transportation
1444 W. Grant Rd.
Tucson, AZ 85745-1406
Arizona Game and Fish, Region 5
555 N. Greasewood Road
Tucson, AZ 85745
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
2021 N. Kinney Road
Tucson, AZ 85743-8918
Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge
P.O. Box 85633
Sasabe, AZ 85633
Bureau of Land Management
12661 East Broadway
Tucson, AZ 85748-7208
Center for Biological Diversity
P.O. Box 710
Tucson, AZ 85702
Chiricahua National Monument
Dos Cabezas Route, Box 6500
Willcox, AZ 85643
Fort Huachuca Wildlife Office
US Army Garrison, ATZS-ISB
Sierra Vista, AZ 85613-6000
Intercultural Center for the Study of Deserts and Oceans
P.O. Box 249
Lukeville, AZ 85341
Mason Audubon Center
8751 N. Thornydale
Tucson, AZ 85742
Native Seeds-SEARCH
526 N. 4th Ave.
Tucson, AZ 85705
Organ Pipe Cactus National
10 Organ Pipe Drive
Ajo, AZ 85321-9626
Saguaro National Park, Rincon
3693 South Old Spanish Trail
Tucson, AZ 85730
Sky Island Alliance
738 N. 5th Ave. Suite 201
Tucson, AZ 85705
Society for Ecological Restoration
1955 W. Grant Road #150
Tucson, AZ 85745
The Nature Conservancy of Arizona
1500 East Fort Lowell
Tucson, AZ 85719
The Nature Conservancy--Flagstaff
2601 N. Fort Valley Rd., Suite 1
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
Water Department
310 West Alameda St.
Tucson, AZ 85701