IU Office of Sustainability

Is the Internship Program in Sustainability right for you? | Back to Top

IUOS interns are high achieving and actively involved students who hail from all corners of campus.  From the Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts to the Department of Physics to the School of Journalism, each of our alumni has enriched our program with a different perspective on sustainability.  And while it is this diversity that strengthens our program, there are a couple of traits that are common among our interns:

• Passion: students in our program are passionate about making our campus a more socially, economically and environmentally equitable place.  They demonstrate this passion through their choices in course work, previous employment, extracurricular involvement and career goals. 
• Independence: many of the internships require students to work well independently and make their own hours.  They are self-motivated and self-directed. 
• Critical thinking: all of our interns demonstrate the ability to think critically through complex problems and reach well-reasoned and comprehensive solutions. 
• Perseverance: sustainability-related projects are attempts to address complex problems, and interns often run into obstacles along the way.  Our most successful interns work tirelessly to approach each barrier in new and creative ways. 
• Respect and inclusivity: the internship program depends on respectful collaboration between interns.  Our students make a commitment to working well each other and making sure that work is relevant to the largest number of students, faculty, staff and community members.  

Basic Qualifications | Back to Top

• Applicants must be full-time students at Indiana University Bloomington at the time they apply to the program. 
• Current students graduating before the summer program begins are no longer eligible. 
• Applicants must be in good academic standing with a minimum GPA of 3.0. 
• Graduate and undergraduate students in all schools are eligible to apply. 

Steps for Applying and Application Checklist | Back to Top

1. Read through the internship offerings and determine which positions might be a good fit for you. 
2. Download (but DO NOT print!) the IUOS application questions to begin preparing your responses. 
3. Contact your recommender, request permission to use him/her as a reference and obtain his/her email address. 
4. Login to the IUOS internship website and submit an electronic recommendation request.  Note: You will not be able access the online application until you submit your recommendation request. 
5. Complete the online application. 
6. Confirm that you recommender has submitted your evaluation.
7. Submit your application. 

Application Checklist

1. Complete online application
2. One letter of reference (Note: You MUST obtain consent from your reference before submitting an electronic recommendation request.)
3. (Optional) Resume for upload (PDF only)
4. (Optional) Slashtmp or other file sharing link to relevant work sample(s)

Hiring Timeline | Back to Top

• Thursday, Aug. 25: IUOS begins accepting applications
• Monday, Sept. 19: Online applications AND recommendations are due. *Note: Applicants WILL NOT be allowed to submit applications until their online recommendation has been received*
• Friday, Sept. 16: First round reviews
• Monday, Sept. 26: Second round candidates will be notified if they are being considered for an interview
• Tuesday, Sept. 27: Finalists selected for interviews
• Friday, Oct. 7: Interns selected, all second round candidates notified of decisions

Tips for Strengthening Your Application | Back to Top

1. Tailor your personal statement to our program. The most successful applications make a strong case for why your academic background, professional experience, and personal and career interests align with specific internship positions. 
2. Choose your recommender early and wisely. Make sure you speak with someone who can speak to your academic experience and/or engagement genuinely and with clarity. Contact this person early to ask if he/she will complete our recommendation form.
3. Get involved. If you’re not doing so already, start volunteering or get involved with a sustainability-related student group or community organization.  Our strongest applicants demonstrate their commitment to sustainability through active campus and/or community engagement. 
4. Ask questions. Have questions, comments, concerns or just need some advice about how to approach an application question? Email us at sustain@indiana.edu.  We’ll get back to you as soon as we can.