The Field Experience requirement is a unique opportunity to apply the theories and techniques from your classes in a non-academic setting. It is also a chance to build skills and experience for your resume, as well as learn more about careers you may be contemplating. This page contains general information about the Field Experience requirement, but you must obtain pre-approval from Program staff to ensure that your plans will satisfy the requirement.

You may complete your Field Experience in one of two ways:

1. Residential Field Course (3 or more credit hours)

The majority of instruction in a residential field course occurs outside a traditional classroom or laboratory, and relocates you to a non-campus environment for your study. Your activities should focus on processes, patterns or human interactions in nature or the built environment. To satisfy the Field Experience requirement, a field course must be elected for 3 or more credit hours.

Residential field courses are offered through several University-owned field stations: The University of Michigan Biological Station in northern lower Michigan offers courses during the spring and summer terms (e.g. Biology 381, General Ecology). The Camp Davis Field Station in Jackson, Wyoming offers geology, environmental science and even humanities courses during the summer term (e.g. Geology 116, Geology in the Rockies; Geology 341, Ecosystem Science in the Rockies; English 317, History and Literature of the Rocky Mountains).

The New England Literature Program  (NELP) offers several courses at its Maine location, as does the Michigan in Washington  Program, in the Nation’s capital.   

 

The field course requirement can also be satisfied by certain field courses taught at sites around the globe.  The Office of International Programs (OIP) (1712 Chemistry Building) offers full semester programs through the Institute for Central American Development Studies (ICADS) in Costa Rica and EcoQuest  in New Zealand. 

U-M students may apply through OIP for either program.  In addition, other non-U-M international field programs are offered by organizations such as the School for Field Studies (SFS), the School for International Training (SIT), Wildlands Studies  and other field study organizations. Some international universities also offer courses that may satisfy the Field Experience requirement.  For more information on international study programs, please contact the Program in the Environment or OIP. Study Abroad classes may be used to fulfill other requirements as well, but must be pre-approved by the Concentration Advisor.

Note: Certain courses can fulfill both the field course requirement and a prerequisite or Core requirement. For example, the Biological Station's Biology 381 satisfies the core General Ecology requirement. Likewise, Camp Davis's Geology 116 offering satisfies the prerequisite Introduction to Geology requirement.

2. Internship (3 credit hours)

An internship can take many forms. It will typically involve your applying coursework principles in an organizational setting away from the University of Michigan campus. Possibilities can include working with a governmental agency, a non-governmental organization or a private business, where there are environmental aspects to your work.

To earn credit for an internship, you need to register for ENVIRON 398, have a faculty advisor and complete some academic work. Most often the academic work will take the form of a paper or papers that examine issues related to your internship. Some faculty will assign journals or other types of assignments. The topic of the assignment(s) must be approved in advance by your faculty advisor.

 

Click here for a copy of the Internship for Credit (Environ 398) Guidelines and Forms.

Examples of recently approved internships include:

  • Bird Rescue of Huron Valley (Saline, MI) - injured bird care and rehabilitation
  • Envirologic (Portage, MI) - water and soil testing
  • INFORM, Inc. (New York, NY) - research on business and the environment
  • La Flor de Paraiso (Cartago, Costa Rica) - sustainable agriculture
  • National Park Service (Gunnison, CO) - outreach and education
  • Steelcase, Inc. (Grand Rapids, MI) - Toxic Release Inventory reporting
  • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Ludington, MI) - sea lamprey monitoring and control
  • U.S. Forest Service (northern Michigan) - vegetation sampling
  • Wilderness Society (Washington, DC) - environmental advocacy and policy
  • Wildtype Native Plant Nursery (Mason, MI) - plant propagation and care
  • World Health Organization (Geneva, Switzerland) - global climate change data assimilation