Internship Program
Ohio EPA’s summer internship program provides students with the opportunity to gain relevant environmental experience. Interns work directly alongside our employees who are experts in the environmental field. Interns assist agency biologists, chemists, geologists, engineers, water quality modelers and so on to combat environmental problems in Ohio. These problems may include but are not limited to air pollution, harmful algal blooms, lead and mercury and polluted rivers. Join us in our mission to protect Ohio’s environment for a healthier Ohio.
Our summer internship openings are posted for a month beginning in January. You can find available positions and apply online through the Ohio Hiring Management System, the State of Ohio's career opportunity page.
Who is eligible?
You are eligible for an internship if you are currently enrolled in a college or university degree program directly related to the position or have graduated within the quarter/semester immediately preceding the internship start date.
What programs are interns involved in?
Ohio EPA interns get involved in a variety of projects, including but not limited to wetlands, modeling, macroinvertebrate sampling and permits.
Ohio EPA's Division of Surface Water Summer Internship Positions |
Thinking about applying? See what some of Ohio EPA's summer interns have to say about how, when and why to apply to our internship program. |
Ohio EPA's Division of Surface Water interns share their exciting water sampling experiences as summer interns. |
Ohio EPA's Division of Air Pollution Control interns share their exciting adventures inspecting smoke stacks out in the field. |
Legal Internships
A legal internship with Ohio EPA offers students an opportunity to learn more about a growing area of law and work closely with individuals responsible for enforcing the law. The work is exciting, interesting, and professionally challenging. Additionally, work with Ohio EPA will provide important experience for any future legal positions in the environmental field. The goal of the program is to involve participating law students in Ohio EPA's multimedia programs.
Students participating in the program will have the opportunity to develop skills, learn substantive areas of law and witness first-hand how a large and active government agency operates. Students are assigned projects ranging from legal research to the actual development and preparation of enforcement cases. Students also have the opportunity to witness negotiation sessions; attend public meetings (where Agency personnel brief and answer questions from the regulated community and concerned citizens about proposed actions of the Director); attend proceedings before the Environmental Review Appeals Commission and Ohio EPA hearing examiners; and attend hearings before the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review. Students may also have the opportunity to visit regulated facilities and sites where clean ups are being performed.
Law students may intern during either the summer or the academic year. Staff Attorneys volunteer to serve as mentors and help students choose projects, provide constructive feedback on work performed, and coordinate with the student's law school to ensure that requirements for any available academic credit are met. Throughout the internship, the mentor and student will meet to discuss the student's work and any questions or issues that may arise.
Students interested in the legal intern program can view any current postings for a legal intern position through the Ohio Hiring Management System. NOTE: postings will be listed as a College Internship for the Office of Legal Services. If you have questions or would like more information regarding this program, please contact Ohio EPA's Legal Office at (614) 644-3037 and ask to speak to an intern coordinator.