BIO 460-01, Internship in Biology, Spring 2005

Abstract

Internships are arranged through Sandi George Tracy in Career Services. The grade for this course is pass/fail and it does NOT count as upper level Biology credit toward the major requirements. However, it does count as hours toward the 112 required for graduation. 1. As per the College catalogue, you are expected to spend a minimum of 46 hours of work toward one hour of academic credit. For a three hour course, this averages a little over 9 hours per week. Therefore, it is suggested you spend about 8 hours per week on site at your internship leaving about one hour per week for your more academic related obligations. (Adjust the time proprotionally if you are one of the few taking more or fewer hours of internship credit.) When you turn in your journal and paper, it will be assumed you have met the time requirements unless you inform me otherwise. Some of you will have enrolled for fewer than three credit hours. In that case, check with me for time requirements. 2. You must keep a journal which details your activities and your impressions. Please make entries in a timely fashion -- ideally, just after you return from your internship. I will review the journal at the end of the semester. If it is handwritten and you don't have an electronic copy, it will be available for you to pick up at the beginning of next semester. 3. You must write a term paper on a topic of your choice. There are no set guidelines on the paper topic or length (although 10-15 pages is a typical range). However, you must carefully research and reference your topic. I would suggest you share some ideas with your internship sponsor(s) and seek advice on references to get you started. Topics in past years have included case studies; analyses of specific diseases, conditions or treatments; economical or philosophical analyses of health care, doctor-patient relationships, or insurance. You may wish to discuss your proposed topic with me around midterm. Please complete the paper and give one copy to your internship sponsor (if you have more than one, then give it to the most appropriate one) and one copy to me by 5:00 pm on the LAST DAY OF CLASSES for the current semester (you have all semester to work on this; you may turn it in as early as you like, but I will not approve extensions). Also, turn in your journal on the last day of classes. Your pass/fail grade in this course will be determined by me in consultation with your sponsor(s). Roughly equal weighting will be given to your written assignments [for the paper, about half on style (spelling, grammar, clarity, conciseness, organization) and half on content (accuracy, depth of understanding, level of analysis, use of references) and your participation on site. Please make every effort to be a curious, involved and helpful intern. If any problems or concerns should arise in your internship, please contact the Biology Dept. internship coordinator or Sandi George Tracy in Career Services as soon as possible.