ENTO 484 - Internship OLD - Department of Entomology

ENTO 484 is an independent study and supervised field experience related to a professional area of interest.

It is the student’s responsibility to seek out and identify an internship opportunity for their credit. Agencies have their own application process and deadlines which are earlier than the department’s application deadlines.

Learning Outcomes:

To recognize the scientific method and apply it to a problem/solution.
To describe problem-solving principles and organize typical operational protocols.
To summarize and illustrate results from an experiment, project, or experience in a written, scientific manner.
To be able to understand the application of this experiment, project, or experience in the student’s area of study.

Assessment of these learning outcomes will be based upon the content evaluation of the internship proposal, electronic internship journal, photo-documented activities, final internship report, and an internship supervisor survey of evaluation.

How do I find an internship, apply for ENTO 484 credit, and get registered?

Step 1: Find an internship that interests you and meets your interests/goals

Find an internship that interests you – perhaps in line with your career goals, something you’d like to explore; apply with their agency/business. You must have an official internship offer before you can apply for ENTO 484 credit.

Internships are competitive, identify agency deadlines in advance so you don’t miss out!

Consider internship searching like a job hunt, apply to multiple and have a backup plan. The ENTO Internship Database can help begin your search. Use Google and network to find more opportunities! Click here to access the ENTO 484 Internship Database (you must be logged in to your TAMU Google account for access). It is the student’s responsibility to identify and secure an internship.

Internships are not required to be ENTO related, you can think broadly for this professional experience.

Not all agencies have formal internship programs. Can’t find an application on their webpage? Call the agency directly to ask if they offer internships and to connect you with who manages them.

Step 2: Confirm with your Academic Advisor the number of credit hours needed before submitting the ENTO 484 application

2 credits are required for your degree plan.
1 credit hour = minimum of 45 working hours.
2 credit hours = minimum of 90 working hours.
Additional credit hours must be approved by your Academic Advisor, maximum allowed in 4 credits.
To determine if your degree plan has room for more than the required 2 credits to count as directed electives contact your Academic Advisor before applying.

Step 3: Complete the ENTO 484 application and proposal before the deadline

You cannot self-register for this credit.

Your Academic Advisor does not register you for this credit.

You must apply through the links provided on this webpage for the semester in which you will complete the internship to be considered for registration.

If you do not receive a confirmation email, your application was not received, please resubmit.

The application includes a 1–2-page formal proposal for Professional Internship before student will be registered. Students will not be registered for ENTO 484 credit hours until a formal proposal is on file in the Entomology Undergraduate Programs Office. The proposal must include the title page and the following:

Proposal Content:
Describe the agency, department, and responsibilities for your internship (discuss with your internship supervisor).
Provide a section on your professional/educational background that may be relevant to the work experience being done.
Describe what you expect to learn through your internship.
Describe how you expect this internship will be useful for your future career endeavors.

Proposal Formatting:
Student’s proposals must be in APA format, double spaced, 12-pt font. A title page* with the following information must be included with the student’s proposal:
– Student’s Name, UIN
– Number of Credit Hours
– Semester (Fall, Spring, first-,second-, or 10-week Summer)
– Registration Year
– Major
– Date, Student Phone, Student Address, Student Email
– Faris, Ashleigh, ashleigh.faris@ag.tamu.edu
– Supervisor, Supervisor Title, Supervisor Company, Supervisor
– Phone and Email
*Proposals without a title page will not be processed

Save proposal in the following file format: StudentLast,StudentFirst_ENTO484_Faris

Step 4: Internship verification, completion of required Howdy/travel forms

The proposal will be reviewed, and more information or additional steps in Howdy may be requested for the student to complete. Please monitor your TAMU email. You will not be registered for Professional Internship credit until the Department has verified your internship and approved your project(s) with the internship supervisor. Be sure you have provided the correct contact information for your supervisor in your application.

The department coordinator will email instructions for how you complete the Howdy Terms of Use agreement and Location Confirmation steps once your internship is verified.

Step 5: Coordinator registers student for ENTO 484 credit

Students should allow a minimum of two business weeks after application closing date for this process to be approved. Students may only be registered for Professional Internship credit hours during university approved registration periods; credit cannot be applied retroactively. Students are responsible for checking registration dates for each semester.

Registration confirmation is emailed to you.

Establish your internship schedule with your supervisor before you begin the internship.

Application Deadlines and Links to Apply (all deadlines are before 5pm):

Summer 2022, ENTO 484 Application link: https://tamuag.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0IZaQXSUldkWA5M

Majors Application Deadline: May 20, 2022
Non-Majors Application Deadline: May 31, 2022

Fall 2022, ENTO 484 Application link: https://tamuag.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_byj4YfxYLKtbV7o

Majors Application Deadline: August 22, 2022
Non-Majors Application Deadline: August 29, 2022

Spring 2023, ENTO 484 Application link: https://tamuag.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_byj4YfxYLKtbV7o

Majors Application Deadline: January 12, 2023
Non-Majors Application Deadline: January 20, 2023

Summer 2023, ENTO 484 Application link: https://tamuag.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_byj4YfxYLKtbV7o

Majors Application Deadline: May 25, 2023
Non-Majors Application Deadline: June 1, 2023

What do I need to do during the internship?

Exhibit professionalism. Treat this experience as your job and a priority—many agencies look to hire our graduates
Log your experiences in the electronic journal. Track the dates, times and hours worked in a Word document, along with a description of what you worked on, learned, and observed daily. This must be logged to earn credits
Take photos if allowed. Ask a supervisor to take a photo of you near the sign for the agency you interned. We love to share the exciting things our students are doing!
Work your required hours. Spread out over the semester. Work a minimum of 3 hours per week per credit registered during the fall/spring semester. It is expected that an individual that signs up for 2 credits will work a minimum of 6 hours per week for 15 weeks (a total of 90 hours). Internships must be 4 weeks (~20 hr/week) or longer to satisfy requirements.
Go above and beyond. Take advantage of every opportunity an agency shares with you! This is your chance to learn in a real-world setting. If you have free time or finish a task early, ask what your supervisor what you can do next. Take initiative!

Your internship is what you make of it! Majority of our students have no problem meeting the internship hour requirement, instead they often exceed it due to their excitement to see and experience as much as they can during the experience.

Please treat this internship as a job and a priority. This is your opportunity to build a professional network. Your supervisor may serve as a professional reference for you when you apply for jobs. You might even be considered as a future job applicant at your internship agency. Take this experience seriously and respect the time your supervisor is dedicating to mentoring you.

What do I need to submit at the end of my internship to earn ENTO 484 credit?

Requirements for Final Grade:

By the deadline indicated for the semester in which the student is registered, the student is to complete a project questionnaire and upload the final project documentation to the link associated with the semester for which they registered (see links and deadlines for submitting final documents at the bottom of the page).

Technical difficulties are the responsibility of the student and sometimes occur; therefore, we strongly encourage students to submit the documents well in advance of the deadline to allow for troubleshooting if technical difficulties occur.

Required Final Documentation Includes:

1. Final report: See below for formatting details and content expectations

In manuscript format (double spaced, 12 pt font, up to 10-pages, 1500 word minimum), build upon the proposal you submitted to include the following:
- summarized activities and experiences
- what you learned and how your prior knowledge helped
- how the internship was or was not what you expected, and why
- how you will utilize what you learned in your future career
- references (if utilized)
Note: The final project report for your internship experience can be in the form of a poster if it captures the same information and either has been, or will be presented at a meeting, conference, or other similar venue.

2. Electronic journal: Submit as a single PDF. Hours should meet your credit hour requirements at a minimum.

This should detail the dates, times, and hours worked on your project/internship duties over the course of your Professional Internship experience. However, this should not include unpublished data that may hinder future publications and/or patents.
The journal description should indicate that the student should keep a journal that indicates activities conducted each day, by day.

3. Allowable photos (OPTIONAL): We understand interns work with sensitive information. Abide by your agency’s ethics, as allowed by the internship location, and approved by the Internship Supervisor:

Examples of photo documentation may include pictures of interns performing activities relevant to the internship, field sites, photos next to signs where internships are taking place, and other general duties being conducted over the course of the Professional Internship.

4. Supervisor’s evaluation: This is a performance and professional overview of your growth, development and knowledge over the internship experience. See below for more details.

~2 weeks before the end of the semester, supervisors will be sent a link to a survey via email. Students should ensure that their Internship Supervisor has received and completed the supervisor letter/evaluation which will be sent toward the conclusion of the internship (verify with supervisor). This survey will evaluate the performance of the student during the Professional Internship. Satisfactory completion of these steps will determine the grade for the hours of credit requested. A copy of this documentation will become part of the student’s record in the Department of Entomology.

Final Report Deadlines and Links to Submit Final Documents (all deadlines are before 5pm):

Summer 2022, ENTO 484:

Final Document Submission Deadline: August 5, 2022
Link to Upload Final ENTO 484 Documents: https://tamuag.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_06DMxY51QbGiXAO

Fall 2022, ENTO 484:

Final Document Submission Deadline: December 7, 2022
Link to Upload Final ENTO 484 Documents: https://tamuag.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9LlSmYxwfG8kTEW

Spring 2023, ENTO 484:

Final Document Submission Deadline: May 2, 2023
Link to Upload Final ENTO 484 Documents: https://tamuag.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9LlSmYxwfG8kTEW

Summer 2023, ENTO 484:

Final Document Submission Deadline: August 8, 2023
Link to Upload Final ENTO 484 Documents: https://tamuag.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9LlSmYxwfG8kTEW