Overview
Undergraduate Internships at Earth Lab
Our Earth Lab undergraduate internship program immerses students at University of Colorado - Boulder in data-intensive earth science research, education and science communication. Students are paired with a mentor to work on a project where they can gain valuable experience in data exploration, visualization, and analysis and science communication.
Specific skills that a typical intern might gain through the program include:
- Programming with R or Python
- Using computing and geospatial tools like Docker, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Jupyter Notebooks, GitHub, and QGIS
- Giving presentations on scientific research to various audiences
- Writing scientific materials such as abstracts, research papers, and blogs
Snapshot
Time Commitment
Typical internships span one or more semesters. We expect students to spend atleast 8-10 hours a week.
What You Will Learn
While internship topics vary, you will learn skills including scientific programming in R or Python, cloud computing, working with spatial data and presentation skills.
Get Paid to Gain Valuable Skills
This is a paid internship. Our current rate is 15$ and hour.
Internships are offered on a project-by-project basis.
Earth Lab is hiring two undergraduates to assist with field work this summer. The project is using drones to evaluate forest recovery after disturbances. See the full advertisement here.
Currently, our internship positions are paid, however, there may be a credit option in the future. Each internship lasts a minimum of one semester as follows:
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Summer: 20 hours / week
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Spring: 10-15 hours / week
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Fall: 10-15 hours / week
At the end of each semester, there is often an opportunity for interns to continue into the next semester.
Spend 80% of your allocated work time in the Earth Lab office space during business hours (M-F, 8am - 6pm). Earth Lab is full of knowledgeable graduate students, faculty, postdocs, staff and other interns. Spending time in the office provides the opportunity to collaborate with one another and other Earth Lab team members.
Submit all assignments on time. Assignments will vary by semester and generally include a research paper and an oral presentation.
Attend all scheduled internship seminars and presentations. There are exciting seminars, trainings and presentations planned each semester. We do our best to schedule these events around intern schedules.
Meet with mentor face-to-face at least once a week. This ensures that research stays on track and provides time to ask questions.
Earth Lab Offers Two Kinds of Internships
- Earth Data Science Corps Undergraduate Internships (Paid; Summer term)
- This program is aimed at undergraduate students who are new to data science and interested in applying it to earth and environmental science. It is offered to participants at each partner school and CU Boulder, providing experience to students with previously limited access to earth data science educational resources, laying a solid foundation for future earth data science work. Students are not expected to have any previous programming experience before beginning the Earth Data Science Corps program and undergraduate students in all majors and class levels are eligible. Click the link to learn more.
- Project-Based Internships (Paid; Fall, Spring, Summer terms)
- Described above, these internships are offered on a project-by-project basis and interns will be interviewed based on qualifications (e.g. previous data science or related experience), enthusiasm, and willingness to learn.
- Described above, these internships are offered on a project-by-project basis and interns will be interviewed based on qualifications (e.g. previous data science or related experience), enthusiasm, and willingness to learn.