In addition to course work, the following opportunities are available to students interested in environmental problems:

1. Internships with government agencies (e.g., public schools, Forest Service, EPA) or private organizations (e.g., Nature Conservancy, International Audubon Society, National Science Foundation) involved in some aspect of environmental research, regulation, or advocacy may be a valuable learning and career planning experience. Internships may be undertaken during Winter Term, an off-campus semester, or in the summer. Normally these internships do not earn academic credit. Files of volunteer and paid internships are maintained in the Resource Center of the A.J. Lewis Center for Environmental Studies.

2. During Winter Term the Environmental Studies Program often sponsors an on-campus group project which provides an opportunity for students to earn Winter Term , group leaders, or coordinators. In recent years projects dealtwith monitoring the ecological performance of the Adam Joseph Lewis Center and of the
Living Machine, Whole Farm Planning and researching options for the Oberlin Sustainable Agriculture Project (OSAP), and ecological design housing possibilities for the Oberlin Student Cooperative Association (OSCA).

3. The Honors Program in Environmental Studies involves completion of an independent research project during the student’s senior year and an oral examination on the research. The project involves ongoing consultation with at least two honors advisors from different programs/departments. Qualified majors will be invited to apply during their junior year, with applications due April 15.   Acceptance into the Honors Program is based on the student’s academic achievements, the suitability of the proposed project, and his or her potential to do substantial independent research. Detailed guidelines for the Environmental Studies Honors Program are available in the Program office.

4. The program sponsors a series of public lectures by guest speakers and faculty members.

5. Students may schedule a private reading course during their junior or senior years. In the past, students have taken private readings in ecological design, ecological economics and eco-feminism.

Joyce Gorn Memorial Prize

In the spring semester, the Program Committee awards the Joyce Gorn Memorial Prize to one or more students for outstanding work on an extracurricular or off-campus environmental project.

Ann Schaening Memorial Fund

Funds are available to assist students with Winter Term projects in Environmental Studies. Interested students may submit a project proposal to the Program Chair for approval by the Environmental Studies Program Committee.