The purpose of the required internship is to provide you with an opportunity to work in a professional environment under the guidance of design professionals. It is an important transition step between your education and your professional career.
Landscape Architecture Internship FAQs
Who is eligible to complete the internship?
Landscape Architecture/ Landscape Design & Planning majors who have earned at least a C- in LA 3001: Understanding and Creating Landscape Space and LA 3002: Informants of Creating Landscape Space are eligible to complete the required for-credit internship. If you have questions, please check with your academic advisor or the faculty supervisor. (See “Who will be my faculty supervisor?” below.)
What are the enrollment and work expectations?
- Enroll in LA 4096 for 1 credit. Note: The course grade base is S/N, which means you must earn the equivalent of a C- or better in order to receive credit for the course. Refer to the Internship Contract & Course Access Instructions.
- A minimum of 250 hours of work is expected.
When should I do my internship?
Internships are typically completed in the summer between your junior and senior year, but you may also complete your internship during fall or spring semester terms. It is important for you to register for the semester during which you are completing your internship hours. When completing the internship in the summer, check with Brad Agee about when to register for LA 4096.
Who will be my faculty supervisor?
Brad Agee will serve as your internship faculty supervisor. The terms “faculty advisor” and “faculty supervisor” are used interchangeably.
Who will be my internship site supervisor?
Your internship site supervisor will necessarily be someone more knowledgeable about the field than you and, thus, be able to mentor and guide you in learning the tasks outlined in your learning agreement. Supervision by a friend or family member is not allowed.
Where should I complete my internship?
Consider your career goals when looking for an internship. Meet with the faculty supervisor to discuss possibilities for internships that will provide you with the experiences you need to succeed in your career.
Freelance Positions:
Because our goal is for you to work with landscape design and planning professionals, typical freelance jobs usually will not meet the internship criteria. Your search for an internship will be much like a job search, and you want to find a position that will be appropriate for your interests and abilities.
If I own my own business, do I need to complete an internship?
If you are a small business owner for whom conducting an internship with another company is unrealistic, talk with the faculty supervisor about possible alternative strategies for completing the internship requirement.
Do I need to set learning objectives prior to the internship?
Yes. In the Internship Experience Agreement, you must define how your internship activities will relate to specific learning objectives to be pursued in the completion of your internship responsibilities. Simply specifying a desire to work 250 hours for a particular firm or agency would be an insufficient definition of learning goals. The vast majority of the tasks you undertake should be professionally relevant to one or more of your internship learning objectives. Refer to the Internship Contract & Course Access Instructions.
How do I register for my internship?
- Complete the Internship Experience Agreement via your Handshake account. Refer to the Internship Checklist.
- The Internship Experience Agreement must be completed, including faculty advisor and site supervisor signatures, before you begin your internship hours. Refer to the Internship Checklist.
- Enroll in LA 4096. Refer to the Internship Checklist.
- You must complete approximately 250 hours of internship work for the credit.
- The internship grade base is S/N which means that you must earn the equivalent of a C- or better in order to receive credit for the course.
Do I need to submit any documents after completing my internship hours?
In order to receive credit, you must submit all of the following documents to the Director of Undergraduate Studies upon completion of your internship. In the Internship Experience Agreement, you will see a field that requires you to enter the information below:
- Describe your daily internship activities and the corresponding learning goal(s) from your Internship Experience Agreement
- 5-7 page synthesis paper in which you:
- Describe your internship and how you met your learning goals
- Relate the internship experience to your environmental design education (e.g., In what ways did you use what you learned in school? What did you learn at the internship that you could not learn in a classroom setting?)
- Final Internship Evaluation Form: Employer – to be completed by your internship site supervisor Note: It is your responsibility to ensure submission of this form by your internship site supervisor to the DUGS.
- Final Internship Evaluation Form: Student – to be completed by you
Who do I contact if I have questions?
Contact Brad Agee at [email protected].
