The Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection offers an opportunity for undergraduate students to apply their classroom knowledge in a real life setting as summer interns.  Programs are both paid Public Service Internships and unpaid volunteer positions.

Unpaid Internship Positions

The DEP Watershed Management Division offers an excellent opportunity to train with County ecologists as they assess the health of various watersheds within Montgomery County. These are unpaid internship positions, although they may be eligible for credit at universities and colleges which require an internship in order to graduate.

Duties: While duties differ seasonally, interns may work with stream monitoring crews to collect biological, physicochemical, and habitat data needed to assess stream health. Field duties include: fish monitoring, surveying, rapid habitat assessments, quantitative habitat surveys, and benthic macroinvertebrate subsampling. Lab work can include database entry and management, benthic macroinvertebrate subsampling and identification, and calibration of instruments. Applicants should demonstrate knowledge and/or experience in stream assessments using a rapid bioassessment method. Applicants should have a major in aquatic biology, ecology, environmental science, or a related field.

Minimum Qualifications: Completion of two years of college course work (60 credit hours of its academic equivalent). Aquatic ecology related course work and/or experience.

For more information email DEP.