Internships
We believe internships are a fantastic way to put your learning into practice, help you figure out what you do (and don't) want to do, and gain valuable professional skills and experience that you can leverage when you leave WashU.
- Internships do not count for the major or minor: Internships are valuable extracurricular experiences that do not count toward the major or minor offered by the Environmental Studies Program.
- External, off-campus internships: Environmental Studies does not have a course that provides credit for a "bring your own" external internship. If you have identified your own external internship host, such as a company or non-profit agency, that you would like to work with in spring, summer, or fall, and need to earn course credit, you can earn GEST credit for internship through the College of Arts & Sciences. Information about the ArtSci internship process can be found here.
- Impact Internship Program with Environmental Studies: Environmental Studies does offer our own, in-house, paid internship program that places interns with our valued community partners. Read more below about this program.
- Other Environmental, Sustainable, and Climate Change Internships: Several campus programs offer academic year and/or summer internships that are project-based or research-based. More information on internship/research experiences with the following organizations can be found further down on this FAQ page.
Impact Interns Program
In Environmental Studies, we understand that our students don’t just want to learn about environmental issues in class. They also want to apply their knowledge & skills on the ground to make a positive impact in our community. Our Impact Internships embed students within St. Louis organizations, engaging with the environmental issues that impact people’s lives every day. This program allows Environmental Studies to support important environmental work that our organizational partners lead in the community. The Impact Internship Program runs during both the Fall and Spring Semester as well as over the Summer.
Compensation
Interns receive a $3000 stipend for part-time Summer internships or during the Fall and Spring Semesters internships. This stipend is disbursed monthly over a period of four months. Impact Interns receive a $6000 stipend for full-time summer internships. This stipend is disbursed monthly over a period of two months (end of May and end of July).
Time Commitment
To ensure Impact Interns can engage meaningfully with their organizations, we require a minimum commitment of 130 hours per semester for academic year interns. In the summer we have a full-time option (260 hours) and a part-time option (130 hours). This equates to roughly 33 hrs/week (or 16 hours a week if part-time) during the summer, and roughly 10 hrs/week during the academic year (excluding weeks in which the University has breaks). Your schedule can vary from week to week, but it is critically important to ensure you have adequate time to commit to this internship before applying. If you are taking extra courses, or already have a job or internship, this opportunity may not be right for you at this time. If interns do not complete the hours requirement, they may not be eligible to continue their internship, the duration of their stipend may be reduced, or both.
Student Conditions
Any currently enrolled student at Washington University, undergraduate or graduate, may apply for this program. By applying, students commit to attending several events & professional development sessions with their intern cohort throughout the semester. Students who can commit to at least 2 consecutive semesters of an internship will be prioritized. Students may not intern after they graduate- all summer interns must be enrolled at WashU for fall semester.
ENST 2990
Impact Interns who are also International Students or students with high financial need, can also take ENST 2990 for credit (Select Section taught by Griffin Knipp). However, it is not necessary that Impact Interns take the course for credit.
To find the current list of positions available to apply for, please go here.
We are accepting applications for the Summer 2025 positions. Please read each description carefully for information on time commitment and application instructions. Contact Griffin Knipp at knipp@wustl.edu with any questions. Applications can be submitted here.
Prospective interns must send their resume, and cover letter describing their interest and qualifications for the position. There is no process for a general application, applicants who wish to apply for multiple positions, should fill out the application for each position they apply for.
If your organization is interested in hosting a WashU intern for an environmental project, please reach out to Griffin Knipp at knipp@wustl.edu with your proposed internship description and desired timeline.
Your organization does not need to have an environmental focus, so long as the intern is working on an environmental issue. We define the environment broadly to include many themes around housing quality, public health, food apartheid, policy, and more- reach out and ask us even if you aren’t sure your task is environmental!
Please take a look at our Impact Internship Handbook (found here), for more information as to what is expected of a host site.
Nonprofit and governmental organizations addressing environmental issues are permissible host sites for interns.
Additionally, we recognize many for-profit organizations also engage with pressing environmental issues. We will consider student internships at for-profit organizations on a case-by-case basis, though for-profit entities may need to cover all or part of the cost of their interns.
We select placements based on our selection criteria (see Rubric of selection criteria here).
Occasionally some students need to obtain course credit to participate in our Impact Internship. We offer a course (EnSt 2990) that can provide 3 units of credit if a student meets each of the following criteria: 1) has already been accepted into the Impact Intern Program through the standard application procedure, 2) is an international student or a student with high financial need, and 3) has met with the Impact Internship Coordinator about these eligibility criteria.
Environmental, Sustainable, and Climate Change Internships
The Environment, Sustainability and Climate Change (ESCC) Internship Program is a multi-stakeholder program that places students in internships, research, and project teams, while simultaneously providing professional development and enrichment training. The program is a partnership between the Office of Sustainability, the Center for the Environment, the Environmental Studies Program, and the Tyson Research Center. You can find out more about this partnership here.
The Office of Sustainability (OOS) is a team of staff and students charged with providing the vision, strategy, and leadership for advancing operational and cultural sustainability efforts at WashU. The Office of Sustainability staff manages a team of approximately 20 part-time, paid student associates during the school year and 4-5 full-time paid associates over the summer to support the university’s efforts to be a sustainability leader.
Learn more at: OOS
Tyson is a field station with laboratories, experimental facilities, and 2,000 acres of land, Tyson provides opportunities for multi-scale research and educational programs.There are two programs that are run out of Tyson, the Tyson Undergraduate Fellows, and the Conservation Corps.
The Center for the Environment is an interdisciplinary hub of environmental research that accelerates research across environmental solutions. The Center for the Environment internship program is open to all WashU undergraduate students and typically includes 4-5 students per semester, working on projects from website management to program development.
More information can be found here
The Living Earth Collaborative is the premier science-driven consortium in leading-edge biodiversity research and education. It is a partnership between Washington University, Missouri Botanical Garden and the Saint Louis Zoo. More information on undergraduate research opportunities can be found here.
Other Internship Opportunties
There are multiple other opportunities to find internship opportunities across the university as well, here are a few:
The Gephardt Institute employs a range of student staff including undergraduate coordinators, graduate assistants, and graduate fellows who fulfill essential roles and benefit from substantive professional and personal development.
Learn more about our internship program, the St. Louis Fellow Program, and other opportunities.
Handshake is WashU’s career management platform and is available to all students and alumni. Schedule a career coaching appointment, plus find Center for Career Engagement workshops, events, and career fairs. Explore internships and job opportunities from employers across industries, including on-campus jobs.
With Handshake you can:
- Interview for jobs and internships on campus
- Find career tips and Q&A’s
- Stay connected with peers and job-related news
- Navigate upcoming employer events on campus
- Register for career fairs and events