We invite students to apply to our new internship program, VITAL4NR. The program supports paid internships for Tribal students and is coordinated by the S.J. and Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources at Utah State University. The program is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture New Beginning for Tribal Students program.
What is the VITAL4NR program?
VITAL4NR is a new program to support paid internships for Tribal students in environment and natural resources fields. This project builds on a long-running internship program for natural resources students at USU and existing relationships with partner organizations, expanding internship and undergraduate research position availability and providing cultural training to mentors and supervisors.
Internships will be available with partner state and federal agencies, municipalities, nonprofits, and USU faculty. See here for examples of available internships from previous years.
Research shows that internships are important to increasing university student success and can provide connections to long-term careers in environment, natural resources, and geospatial fields. Job opportunities are growing in these areas which address critical socio-environmental challenges related to sustainability, land and water management, ecosystem stewardship, and climate change. Developing a broader community of natural resource managers and associated positions is critical to ensure that professionals can meet the needs of an increasingly varied set of stakeholders.
The next round of applications is due January 29, 2025 for Summer 2025 internships.
How are students selected for the program?
All USU undergraduate students in Logan, Blanding, Price, Uintah Basin, or any other Statewide campus who are members of a federally recognized tribe are eligible to apply for the program. Documentation of tribal membership may be required after application.
Preference will be given to students in a QCNR major (see here for list of majors) or exploratory students interested in a QCNR major, and students who have completed at least 30 credit-hours of coursework.
Up to eight students will be selected for the program for Summer 2025 internship positions.
The program will also be recruiting for future years, and applications for Summer 2026 will be available in Fall 2025.
What does the VITAL4NR program provide?
Students who are selected for the program will work one-on-one with faculty mentors to identify and apply for summer internship positions offered by the Quinney College of Natural Resources with partner organizations (including federal and state agencies, nonprofit organizations, and municipalities) and faculty researchers.
Most internships will be 12 weeks, 40 hours per week, May through August (specific dates may vary depending on the internship). Depending on the internship position, pay will be $15-18/hour. The location of the internships will vary by position: some will be based in Logan, while others will be based around Utah and surrounding states. Housing and travel support will be provided for selected internships.
As part of the program, students will also join a cohort of other students engaged in internship and research experiences supported by one-on-one mentoring and short courses before and after their internships. Students in the VITAL4NR program will be required to enroll in a 1-credit online internship preparation course, NR 4251, in the second 7-week session of Spring semester prior to their summer internship (Feb 26 - Apr 22). The following Fall semester, students who have not graduated will be required to enroll in a 1-credit online course, NR 4252, to report on their internship achievements (Aug 25 - Oct 13).
Students may apply to multiple internship positions and may not be offered their first-choice positions. However, acceptance into the VITAL4NR program ensures at least one summer internship position offer in the first year for program students. Students accepted into the program may remain in the program for the following year and are eligible to apply for internship positions in their second summer in the program if they have not yet graduated.
Dr. Gustavo Ovando-Montejo (Blanding campus), gustavo.ovando@usu.edu
Dr. Sunshine Brosi (Price campus), sunshine.brosi@usu.edu
Dr. Mark Chynoweth (Uintah Basin campus), mark.chynoweth@usu.edu