Prof. Steffen W. Schmidt, Ph.D Professor of Political Science and Coastal Policy Coastal Policy Internship Academic Supervisor Other Web-based classes: Coastal Policy (USA) Home Page International Integrated Coastal Zone Management Course Home Page

Dr Schmidt at Norman's Key, Bahamas, researching the human impact on coastal zone ecosystems and designing sustainable tourism models for island nations.

Warning: Please do not start an internship until you have contacted the Internship Supervisor Dr. Steffen Schmidt who will discuss this with you and send you the appropriate forms. If you don't get permission your internships will not be valid for credit from our program.
1. Download application and approval form.
2. Download the evaluation form your supervisor will fill out.

The Internship Class - Revised October 2008

You must enroll in the class CZMT-0664., Internship in Coastal Policy, 3 credits. Students enrolled in this course are expected to invest the equivalent of 3+ hours per week for 12-14 weeks (approximately 42 total hours) in their internship. The internship can be done at a research organization, private company or consulting firm, local, county, state of federal government agency, research lab or institute, or other instructor approved venue that is related to coastal zone activities. In addition to the hands-on work, each intern will also keep an academic journal of the internship (see below). The student's supervisor at the internship venue will also evaluate the student.

What is an Internship?

The purpose of an internship is to give students the opportunity to experience practical applications of the knowledge learned in academic courses. The internship also lets the student explore possible career options related to coastal zone policy or management, and make contacts and learn how to develop a network that can assist them in locating employment. The student (subject to approval by the program) may arrange an internship on their own or students may wish to discuss internship interests with the CZM Internship Program Coordinator who will suggest internship opportunities. Internships must involve substantive assignments and will not be granted for clerical office work or other routine "labor".

• Working for a board in assessing or managing land use/zoning policy in a local coastal area. (Local municipal, county government, state regulatory board or commission).
• Assisting in the research on policies related to ship holding tank ballast disposal and the problems of "invasive" exotics entering local ecosystems. Focus on regulatory and policy aspects.
• Designing a series of lesson plans for use in K-12 using coastal management, policy, and/or coastal issues as the learning content. (as an intern in a school or education non-profit).
• Working for a non-profit organization in developing their activities related to local environmental and other coastal programs. (Example: sea turtle rescue; Manatee habitat preservation policies; ).
• Interning with a private consulting firm that contracts with governmental units or private companies and produces services or products related to coastal zones. (Example: legal services; lobbying; coastal policy legal research, ).
• Participating in a coral reef restoration project (focus on policy aspects).
• Working with a news organization researching information on coastal policy issues.
• Katrina hurricane relief work or coastal redesign in Louisiana. (Focus on relief policy aspects)
• Hurricane Ike and the Texas coast. Consulting or work for a non-profit. Lessons learned from Katrina?
• Pacific tsunami warning systems support.

A. Every two weeks you should send your update on the internship experience in the form of summaries of the most important observations from your journal (diary) which you should keep more or less on a daily basis. Before you go to sleep jot down the most interesting/important thing that happened that day). Your reflections should tie the internship experience to your academic work and specifically to Coastal Zone Management issues or problems. In a typical term-long internship you will be writing up roughly six up-dates (one submission every two weeks for a 12 week term). These should be 1-2 pages long. Download the reporting form template.

B. At the end of your internship have your supervisor fill out the evaluation form. If you did not already get that form download the evaluation form your supervisor will fill out.

C. Please send me your journal entries and a five to eight page summary and conclusion to the internship. Summarize and evaluate the range of experiences you have had during your internship assignment. The following questions and issues should be addressed in the conclusions of your report:

1. How has your knowledge of coastal zone policy and/or management issue been broadened and deepened by this internship? What are three new ideas and concepts you learned on your internship that you did not know about the study of Coastal Policy? Do you see correspondence or contradictions between the accumulated body of facts and theories from your previous Coastal Policy courses and the "real" world as you experienced it in the internship? Explain. Can you cite specific concepts, assumptions, "established facts," prevailing views, and/or theories that have either been confirmed or disconfirmed in your experiences? Please refer to information from specific articles, books, or other academic material from your previous coastal courses.
2. List and describe the kinds of skills and techniques that you developed during your internship. Are there any skills that you improved such as enhancing your ability to analyze, gaining greater insight into coastal issue "politics", improving techniques of oral argument, presentation, and critique? How much writing and synthesizing of materials were required during your internship? Do you feel that the skills that you acquired can help you succeed after graduation in your profession of choice? In what ways has this internship enhanced your "job marketability?"
3. In what ways has this experience enriched you personally? Have you learned more about yourself? How were your beliefs about coastal management or the science of coastal policy affected by this experience? In what one or two ways did you gain a greater understanding of the role and/or importance of coastal areas?