Sustainability Internships
he Office of Sustainability partners with the Student Sustainability Council and sustainability-focused offices from across the campus to provide exciting and meaningful undergraduate internship opportunities for UK students.
These undergraduate internships are paid $11/hour ($12/hour for returning interns) for 8-10 hours per week. The internships start in mid-August and follow the academic calendar through the end of the spring semester in early May. Interns will work with a mentor on supporting a specific sustainability unit on campus, develop an independent project, and participate in a professional development series with the full cohort of interns. You may apply for multiple positions but must submit a separate application for each. For questions, please email uksustainability@l.uky.edu.
Applicants must be University of Kentucky undergraduate students enrolled in at least one class for the fall semester and have a graduation date no sooner than May 2025 (unless you are a returning intern).
Please review this summary of Expectations and Deliverables prior to submitting your application.
A draft list of the internship positions for 2024-2025 is below.
2024-2025 Position and Descriptions
Office of Sustainability: These two interns will work with the Office of Sustainability on communications and program development. Experience with graphic design and social media content creation is preferred.
Major responsibilities:
- Assist with the development and implementation of campus sustainability programs. Some examples include the fall Sustainability Showcase, WholeSum, and others.
- Assist the Office with communication efforts through graphic design, social media, website updates, and WholeSum blog posts.
Healthcare Sustainability Initiatives: This intern will work with UK Healthcare's operations Team on healthcare-related sustainability initiatives. This intern will assist with the development, implementation, and coordination of various projects.
KY Climate Consortium: This intern will assist the Kentucky Climate Consortium (KYCC) with their efforts on providing Kentuckians access to reliable, accessible, and relevant information about the climate. Ideal candidates will have experience with or interest in learning how to communicate about scientific topics, write website copy, use a website content management system, and manage event logistics.
Major responsibilities:
- Support grant-funded research, including human-subjects research on climate policy and communication
- Contribute to climate-related teaching materials for college classes
- Contribute to the monthly KYCC newsletter
- Support planning and logistics for the Fall and Spring meetings of the full KYCC membership
UK Recycling: UK Recycling is seeking three (3) student interns to assist with zero-waste initiatives through programmatic support. Each intern will focus on one of the three diversion methods: reduction/reuse, organic waste collection, and recycling.
Major responsibilities
- Assist with campus outreach and educational efforts such as tabling, America Recycles Day, the fall Sustainability Festival, and other outreach efforts.
- Assist in auditing buildings for recycling needs and locations.
- Research other diversion stream opportunities, such as ways to recycle new items.
Urban Forest Initiative Working Group: The Urban Forest Initiative (UFI) connects people to the urban forests of UK campus, Lexington, and the Commonwealth of Kentucky through community outreach, training, and tree mapping.
Major responsibilities:
- Assist with outreach, education, and community engagement projects at in-person events and across a variety of media including (but not limited to): video and graphic creation, social media, tree facts sheet, etc.
- Work in partnership with the UFI core team and working group members from around the state to elevate the visibility and health of the urban forest in our communities
Built Environment Working Group: The Built Environment Working Group at the Tracy Farmer Institute for Sustainability & the Environment (TFISE) is multidisciplinary group with collaborators from various departments such as the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, the College of Design, and the College of Engineering. The mission of the working group is to enhance experiential leaning by utilizing campus as a place to test ideas and apply ideas focused on biological sustainability, healthy communities, and beautiful places to develop long-term partnerships. This intern must be comfortable with generating maps and graphic communication material. The goals of this internship are: applied learning; research driven community engagement projects; and model and evaluate built environments to inform future learning.
Major responsibilities:
- Participate in the Built Environment's planning sessions
- Assist with the development, organization, and documentation of new design projects and competitions
- Assist with research and data collection
- Assist with survey data, transcribe interviews and written reflections
Energy (Lab Environments): This intern will work with Utilities and Energy Management on improving energy efficiency in lab environments. This internship role will support the UK User-Led Environmental Lab Excellence (UKULELE) Program by working with operational and lab stakeholders to develop new or enhance existing initiatives. Areas of focus for UKULELE this internship may support include (1) minimizing the environmental impacts of lab operations, (2) ensuring safe, healthful, clean and accessible lab environments, and (3) enhancing effective conditions for excellence in teaching and research.
UK Dining: This intern will work with the Director of Sustainability for UK Dining to develop, manage, and promote a variety of sustainability-related programs including local purchasing, food waste reduction, climate-friendly menu development, and zero waste catering options.