notebook with benefits of an internship written on it

Internships help you explore career possibilities, gain hands-on experience that you can put on your resume, and develop professional skills that complement your classroom learning. An internship can also help you see the realities of a particular job so that you can determine if that career path is right for you before you graduate!

Can I pursue an internship for credit towards my geography major?

Yes. We have two internship courses that are currently available. The first is Geog 489 – Internship in Geography, Upper Division, and the second is Geography 698 – GIS/Cartography Internship.

Is the internship required for the major or minor?

The major has an upper-level experiential learning requirement. This requirement can be met through an approved internship (GEOG 489 or 698), a field work course (GEOG 650), an approved study abroad (GEOG 497), or an approved independent study (GEOG 699). The student can choose the type of experience that best matches their academic and professional goals.

The minor does not require experiential learning. However, all students – both majors and minors – are encouraged to seek out one or more internships during their time in college. Internships are a unique opportunity to explore the features of different jobs, companies and industries so that you can make well-informed career decisions after college.

Who oversees my internship within the department?

You will need to identify a faculty advisor who does relevant research to supervise the internship. You should consider faculty with whom you have taken a class, and you should look at faculty web pages to understand their background and whether it relates to your internship. For further questions not answered here, contact Professor Woonsup Choi.

The faculty supervisor will work in cooperation with your on-site internship supervisor. Both supervisors must sign your completed internship agreement form for the internship to be accepted by the department.

Do I need to fill out any forms when enrolling in one of the internship courses?

Yes. Here are the agreement forms. Please note that you will need a thorough description of the internship. You will also need signatures from both your faculty supervisor and your on-site internship supervisor.

You may need to sign a liability waiver (again, check with your faculty supervisor as to whether this is needed.)

Will the geography department arrange my internship?

No, we’re not able to do that – you will need to find an internship with an appropriate business or agency on your own, and then ask a Geography faculty member to supervise it. Or, if you had a class with a Geography faculty member, and want to do an internship related to their research, you can ask that faculty member. They may have suggestions based on community and alumni connections and past students’ internship experiences. Here is a list of businesses and agencies that our students have completed internships with recently that may also be useful.

Does the internship fulfill my experiential learning requirement for the major?

An internship can fulfill the experiential learning requirement. Other alternatives are field work, study abroad, or independent study.

Internships (GEOG489 or GEOG698), study abroad (GEOG 497), and independent work (GEOG 699) require prior approval from your geography faculty advisor and the undergraduate program chair. Field work (GEOG 650) does not require prior approval but is not offered every semester.

I have my internship arranged. What do I do to complete Geography 489?

First, you need to arrange with your faculty supervisor to enroll in the correct course.

You need to report to your faculty supervisor every other week. This biweekly report should answer these questions:

  • Questions for every report:
  • What have you gotten done this week?
  • What have been any barriers to progress?
  • What other issues have you encountered?
  • What is your plan for the next two weeks, in terms of your internship work?
  • What are your current thoughts regarding your final project/paper on the internship? What progress have you made on this piece?

Additional questions for some reports:

  • What geographic skills have you used the most so far in this internship?
  • What skills have you needed to learn on the job?
  • What is the work environment like? For example, do you feel comfortable and included in the workplace? What are their expectations for when, where, and how you do your work? Are the expectations clear? How do they communicate those expectations to you? Are you working more
  • alone or more with others? What are the expectations in terms of timeliness, communication, attire, etc.?

You also need to work on your internship paper. Here are the expectations for that paper (Geog 489 paper rubric PDF).

At the end of the term, you need to provide your agency supervisor this PDF form (Agency Assessment of Intern) so that they can evaluate your internship work, and you need to complete your evaluation of the agency & internship with this PDF form (Student Intern Evaluation of Agency/Internship).

I have my internship arranged. What do I do to complete Geography 698?

First, you need to arrange with your faculty supervisor to enroll in the correct course.

You need to report to your faculty supervisor every other week. This biweekly report should answer these questions:

Questions for every report:

  • What have you gotten done this week?
  • What have been any barriers to progress, in terms of GIS issues?
  • What other issues have you encounted?
  • What is your plan for the next two weeks, in terms of your internship work?
  • What are your current thoughts regarding your final project/paper on the internship? What progress have you made on this piece?

Questions for some student reports:

  • What GIS skills have you used the most so far in this internship?
  • What GIS skills have you needed to learn on the job?
  • What is the work environment like? For example, do you feel comfortable and included in the workplace? What are their expectations for when, where, and how you do your work? Are the expectations clear? How do they communicate those expectations to you? Are you working more alone or more with others? What are the expectations in terms of timeliness, communication, attire, etc.?

You also need to work on your internship paper. Here are the expectations for that paper (Geog 698 paper rubric PDF).

At the end of the term, you need to provide your agency supervisor this PDF form (Agency Assessment of Intern) so that they can evaluate your internship work, and you need to complete your evaluation of the agency & internship with this PDF form (Student Intern Evaluation of Agency/Internship).

UWM Land Acknowledgement: We acknowledge in Milwaukee that we are on traditional Potawatomi, Ho-Chunk and Menominee homeland along the southwest shores of Michigami, North America’s largest system of freshwater lakes, where the Milwaukee, Menominee and Kinnickinnic rivers meet and the people of Wisconsin’s sovereign Anishinaabe, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Oneida and Mohican nations remain present.   |   To learn more, visit the Electa Quinney Institute website.