Research Experiences for Undergraduates, Graduate Students and Post-doctoral Students

The zoo is committed to training young scientists to conduct independent research projects that are relevant to the management and conservation of captive and wild populations. Several of our staff scientists hold adjunct positions at the University of Illinois and the University of Chicago where they supervise graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. Interested individuals should identify the staff member most relevant to their research interests and contact conservation@lpzoo.org for more information. In addition, the zoo can provide a great “field site” for graduate research projects; for more information on conducting your research at Lincoln Park Zoo, click here.

The zoo’s Research Internship program provides unique opportunities for undergraduates and recent graduates to gain research experience on exotic species in a captive setting. The internship program is based in the Conservation & Science Department and offers a unique opportunity to conduct work in a variety of areas and gain valuable experience while being a part of the zoo’s team approach to research and management of small populations. Interns have the opportunity to conduct research projects under the guidance of staff scientists in one or more of the following areas: demography, population genetics, population modeling, animal behavior, animal cognition, epidemiology, endocrinology and conservation.

Internships are between three months and two years. Our three-month internships are usually filled in the summer months by college sophomores, juniors or recently graduated seniors. In these internships, a student is mentored by a zoo scientist on a single research project in one of the above areas. These short internships usually focus on data collection and/or analysis of an ongoing research project.

Recent college graduates are eligible for longer internships when available. In these longer internships, the intern often carries out multiple research projects in a combination of disciplines (often with different staff mentors), leading to a broad range of experiences. Since its inception the program has trained more than 80 undergraduate and graduate students. Student projects have resulted in published papers, scientific presentations, undergraduate honors theses, master’s theses and Ph.D. dissertations. Click here for more information on projects from the past few years.

All of these students have gained substantive research experience that is vital to their future success in the biological sciences. The majority of previous interns have gone on to professional careers in science, including veterinary school and graduate school in the biological sciences; several have obtained jobs in Lincoln Park Zoo’s Conservation & Science Department.

DETAILS
Internship availability varies throughout the year. When internship positions are available, they will be posted here on the zoo’s employment page. If no internship positions are posted but you would like us to keep your information on file for future openings, e-mail a copy of your resume to conservation@lpzoo.org. Be sure to mention the internship area (behavior, population genetics, etc.) and time-frame you are interested in.