Department of Biology

College of Humanities and Sciences

Current StudentsGive

Internships

If you're interested in getting real-world experience in biology, consider an internship.

Participating in an off-campus biology internship is a great way to earn credits toward your degree! While biology advisers can assist you with recommendations, site approval, and course registration, you must find and select your own internships.

Finding Opportunities

Here are some steps you can take to find internship opportunities.

Consider Your Interests

Think about when you would like to do an internship, i.e., summer or fall. Also consider what you are interested in: ecology, microbiology, wildlife biology and biomedical research are a few options.

Start Searching

While our advisers will not contact places for you, they do know about different options in the Richmond area. They also can point you to other resources outside the area.

Reach Out

Start contacting potential internship sites. Biology advisers will not contact them for you. Employers appreciate engaging with students who take the initiative. Remember to be professional and courteous when contacting possible organizations. You are representing VCU!

If you don’t have a resume yet, check out VCU Career Services for guidance. All it can take to secure an internship is a well-written email, though many other places may require formal applications.

Internship Sites

To help you get started, here are some companies and organizations VCU biology majors have interned with in the past:

  • Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
  • Maymont
  • Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
  • Virginia Institute of Marine Science
  • Health Diagnostic Laboratories
  • Pfizer
  • Afton Chemical Corporation

Just remember, to be eligible to receive BIOL 493 credit for your internship, there must be some field or lab work involved. Pre-health shadowing or patient care is not applicable for internship credit. You can find some ideas for potential internships here.

Earning Course Credit

If you set up an internship, you can request course credit for the experience through the BIOL 493 Internship Request Form [Google Form]. Fully complete internship request forms must be received at least a week before classes begin for the semester so that you can register for credit. You must start planning well in advance of the semester that you plan to work an internship.

Remember that if you decide to register for BIOL/Z 493, you have to pay the VCU tuition that goes with those credits. Biology does offer a 0-credit option that will meet your REAL requirement but not require you to pay for academic credit. However, if you are a senior, you can use a 1-4 credit option as your capstone experience by also registering for BIOL 477.

Course Description

BIOL 493. Biology Internship. 4 Hours.

Semester course; 0-4 field experience hours. 0-4 credits (one credit per 50 hours of supervised work experience). May be repeated for credit. Prerequisites: BIOL 151, BIOZ 151, BIOL 152 and BIOZ 152 each with minimum grade of C; and permission of the chair of the Department of Biology and the institution where the internship will be performed. Students may take a maximum of four credits per semester; maximum total of six credits for all research and internship courses (BIOL 395, BIOL 451, BIOL 453, BIOL 492, BIOL 493, BIOL 495 and/or BIOZ 395) may be applied to the 40 credits of biology required for the major. Additional credits from these courses may be applied to upper-level and open elective credits toward the degree. BIOL 493 taken for 0 credit does not qualify for BIOL 477 capstone experience. Internship is designed to provide laboratory, field or work experience in an off-campus professional biology setting. In addition to an internship proposal and professional practices/reflection assignments, a final report/reflection must be submitted during the course of the internship.

As of Fall 2023, Biology will also offer:

BIOZ 493.Biology Internship Laboratory. 4 Hours.

Semester course; 0-4 field experience hours. 0-4 credits (one credit per 50 hours of supervised work experience). May be repeated for credit. Prerequisites: BIOL 151, BIOZ 151, BIOL 152 and BIOZ 152 each with minimum grade of C; and permission of the chair of the Department of Biology and the institution where the internship will be performed. Students may take a maximum of four credits per semester; maximum total of six credits for all research and internship courses (BIOL 395, BIOL 451, BIOL 453, BIOL 492, BIOL 493, BIOL 495, BIOZ 395 and/or BIOZ 493) may be applied to the 40 credits of biology required for the major. Additional credits from these courses may be applied to upper-level and open elective credits toward the degree. BIOZ 493 taken for 0 credit does not qualify for BIOL 477 capstone experience. Internship is designed to provide laboratory, field or work experience in a professional biology setting. To justify registration for this BIOZ laboratory experience credit, the internship must involve hands-on data collection and analysis as approved by the department. In addition to an internship proposal and professional practices/reflection assignments, a final report/reflection must be submitted during the course of the internship.

Look for Financial Assistance

Many excellent internships are unpaid.

VCU offers several opportunities to apply for scholarships to offset the financial burden of unpaid internships