Research experience is highly recommended, for science track students in particular. Research opportunities are available to interested ESS students, at Drew during the summer or academic year or elsewhere through, for example, the National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates program. Many ESS students participate each summer in Drew University’s DSSI (Drew Summer Science Institute) program, collaborating with Drew professors. Recent research topics include:
- Fish advisories and environmental justice in Alaska
- Asthma in Newark, NJ, an environmental justice community
- Diesel exhaust measurement and analysis in Newark NJ
- Photochemical oxidation of asphaltenes
- Photochemical reactions of atmospheric pollutants with humic substances
- Photochemistry of humic acid with nitrogen dioxide
- Chemistry of biomass combustion products adsorbed on atmospheric aerosols
- Ozonolysis of catechol vs. methylcatechols: theory & experiment
- Dynamics and demography of invasive Norway maple tree populations
- Impacts of deer and invasive vines on forest structure and dynamics
- Mammalian wildlife research: effects of deer on other animal populations
- Interspecies communication in primates of Peru
- Development of a bioassay for PCBs
- GIS (computer mapping and spatial analysis) of air pollution sources in Newark, NJ [This project helped stop a planned incinerator facility in an environmental justice community already experiencing high rates of child asthma]
- GIS and spatial analysis of invasive marine species
- Environmental sources and impacts of theater scene shop materials
- Sustainability and the land in Ecuador: reforestation, sustainable agriculture, archaeology
Students should speak with professors whose work interests them to explore research possibilities. Prior coursework in the field of investigation is expected.
Unique to Drew University are Drew International Seminars, month-long study abroad opportunities led by Drew professors who also teach pre-departure courses on each topic. Past seminars with environmental components have taken place in the Galapagos Islands, Egypt & the Red Sea, Eritrea, Ecuador and Peru.
Environmental studies students are encouraged to study abroad for a summer or semester; course credit toward environmental studies can often be arranged. The Center for Global Education at Drew can help you search for opportunities that are right for you. Past students have participated in the following programs with high relevance to environmental studies and sustainability:
- Organization for Tropical Studies, Costa Rica and other locations
- School for International Training, Tanzania, Botswana and other locations
- School for Field Studies: Australia, Kenya, Costa Rica and other locations
Sign Up for the ESS Mailing List
Internship opportunities and scholarships (as well as course offerings, events, jobs and research projects!) are posted regularly on Drew’s ESS Program Moodle group. Contact any faculty in the ESS program to enroll as a participant in the ESS Moodle Site. Enrolling in the site will give you notices of site updates and events by email.
Academic Internships
Most ESS students meet their experiential requirement through academic internships, taken for credit during the summer or the academic year. Other interested students are urged to pursue environmental internships as well. To locate opportunities, read guidelines, and arrange academic credit, contact Drew’s Internships and Career Development, which provides access for Drew students to an extensive data base of internships.
Stipend Support for Unpaid Academic Internships and Summer Experiences
Every year, Drew offers several grants to help our students with costs of unpaid (or low-paying) summer experiences related to environmental studies or field biology. Some other summer activities such as research and summer courses abroad may also be eligible for support. These grants are available to all students with internships in these fields, not just ESS students!
- Drew Environmental Studies & Sustainability (ESS) Internship Awards
Through grants to Drew from the Andrew Mellon Foundation and NASA, we offer awards of up to $3000 to support summer internships or research related to environmental sustainability. Priority is given to ESS majors or minors, but students with other majors are also eligible.
- Helen Fenske Internship Award
$500 to support a summer internship related to environmental policy or environmental protection. Priority is given to students majoring or minoring in ESS, political science, or biology.
- Woods Hole/Field Station Scholarship
Two $700 scholarships for students taking ecological field courses or undertaking other field-oriented experiences this summer. Not available for seniors because these scholarships take the form of tuition remission the next semester. Available to students of biology, neuroscience, anthropology, and environmental studies, with the background coursework necessary for participating in the field course.
