BIOL 496 Student-Agency Contract (1-5 cr.; repeatable to 8 cr. total)
BIOl 496 is for students who wish to receive credit for on-the-job experiences in biologically related fields through volunteer, internship, or employment opportunities. The work experience should provide students the opportunity to integrate their academic experience with off-campus work in basic or applied biology. All international internships MUST go through the International Programs and Exchanges office first.
Please complete the form after meeting with a biology faculty member to discuss the appropriateness of receiving credit for the work experience and making arrangements with the Cooperating Agency. This form should be processed prior to the quarter in which the work experience is being completed.
An override for BIOL 496 will be entered and you will be given the CRN to use for registration after your faculty advisor has approved your participation and forwarded your request to the Biology Department office.
Failure to add this course by the end of Phase III Registration will result in the assessment of a late registration fee by the Registrar’s office.
Requirements and Instructions
• You must be a Phase II Biology major and have the approval of your faculty advisor.
• Your advisor or another faculty member will need to be involved coordinating the work experience activities and assign a grade (S/U) after the work experience has been completed.
• The number of credits that can be earned is to be determined by the advisor. For each credit earned the student needs to work the equivalent of two hours per week minimum for ten weeks.
• You are responsible for identifying a particular agency, company or person with whom you would like to work. Ideally this should be done several months prior to registration for BIOL 496. We do not allow students to earn credit based on prior experiences.
• The supervisor at the cooperating agency will need to approve the agreement by providing a digital letter of intent on your behalf. Please attach this letter on the second page of this form.
• When the work is completed ask your supervisor to complete the Evaluation form, and send the form to your faculty sponsor.
Student Responsibilities
1. You will be gaining valuable professional experience, and it is important that you conduct yourself appropriately so that you get the most out of the experience. Additionally the grade you earn in the course will be based in part on your supervisor’s evaluation of your performance.
2. You will need to write a daily journal that includes a summary of each day’s activities and contemplation of how you were able to apply the knowledge or skills gained during your education to the day’s activities.
3. You will need to submit a written final report along with your daily journal to your faculty sponsor. The report should address the science involved in the internship activities (with literature citations), the value of having integrated a professional work experience into your education, and a reflection on how your expectations or views changed during the internship.
4. Your faculty sponsor may want you to communicate about your experiences in other ways such as give a short oral presentation to other students or participating in a panel discussion.
