Information About Internships

The Cal Poly philosophy is "Learn by Doing". Our graduates are expected to be able to skillfully apply the knowledge they receive in the classroom. To achieve this, Horticulture and Park Administration majors are encouraged to participate in an internship during the summer between their junior and senior years.

An internship is a faculty approved position with an outstanding park department, landscape contractor, golf course, nursery business, or other agency in the student’s field of study. A suitable business planning to host an intern must have at least 10 full time employees. Academic credit is given by allowing the student to write his/her Senior Project relative to the experiences received through the internship. Arrangements between students and employers are quite flexible. Working hours, duties, pay scales, etc., may be whatever is agreed upon by employer and employee, so long as five requirements are met:

The student’s assignments must be rotated so that he/she is exposed to a variety of experiences to gain an understanding of the total operation of the department, company or agency. The intern cannot be assigned to one routine job, however important it may be, for the entire summer. This requirement is sometimes met by employers using the student as a vacation relief for several different employees. Other times the student is shifted from crew to crew as peak work requirements necessitate extra help. Sometimes the student is given a design project, study, evaluation or other assignment which, by its nature, exposes the student to the whole operation. Sometimes the student can serve as an assistant to management personnel. In other instances, the employer simply rotates the student from one assignment to another without real regard for the employer’s needs, simply to provide well-rounded experience. Other arrangements are possible and prospective employers are urged to contact the faculty about possibilities.

Interns should be given an opportunity to attend staff meetings, board of directors’ meetings, and other administrative or program functions which may be enlightening. These need not be part of the student’s job, but he/she should be allowed to attend and observe. If the events occur during working hours, the student should be excused from his/her duties or allowed to make them up at another time. If the events occur during off-duty hours, the student is expected to attend of his/her own time.

Some reasonable amount of instruction should be provided about the facilities, methods, procedures, etc., of the employer’s operation. This may be formal in-service training classes, tours, interviews, or any arrangement that is convenient. There is no specification as to the amount of the instruction but the employer is expected to provide as much as is practical.

A brief, one-page evaluation of the student must be mailed to Cal Poly twice a month. The form takes less than five minutes to complete and the student will provide it, with a self-addressed and stamped envelope, to the supervisor at the proper time. The student’s credit for two of the four academic units are largely based on this evaluation by the employer, along with a daily journal that is submitted as soon as the internship is completed.

A letter of intent to meet these requirements must be sent to the Horticulture Department Senior Project Director before the student begins work. It should contain a schedule or other specific explanation of how the requirements of Item #1 will be met.

For further information, contact: Dr. Terry Fujimoto

Telephone: (909) 869-2174.