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Environment Capstone Experience Walkthrough

Prerequisites

  • Completion of 12 hours of coursework in the program
  • Standing as a sophomore, junior, or senior
  • Capstone Experience proposal submitted and approved by a Loyola Environment Program faculty member

Getting Started

1. Choose one of the following courses:

  • ENVA A497 Internship Credit Hours: 3.00
    • Students gain practical experience in environmental fields by conducting service learning projects or volunteer work at some community, government, tourism, or non-government organization. It is expected that students complete at least 120 hours of service. Internships typically require an off-campus director that oversees day-to-day activities and an on-campus faculty sponsor that acts as the liaison between the student, director, and the Environment program. Prior to undertaking an internship, a proposal must be submitted for approval through an Environment program faculty member.
  • ENVA A498 Independent Research Credit Hours: 3.00
    • Students work with a faculty advisor to conduct theoretical, field, and/or laboratory research in some aspect of Environmental Science or Environmental Studies. Typically, this involves identifying an original question in an environmental topic, collecting and analyzing data, and preparing a written report of the findings. Prior to undertaking independent research, a proposal must be submitted for approval through an Environment program faculty member

2. Choose a project director or a project sponsor:

  • Project Director: This is the scholar who you will directly report to for your internship or research project. If the capstone is occurring on campus, this will be a Loyola ENVA faculty member who agrees to oversee all aspects of the project. For off-campus projects, the Project Director will not be a Loyola ENVA Faculty member, so you will need a faculty member as your Project Sponsor.  
  • Project Sponsor: This must be a Loyola ENVA faculty member who acts as the liaison between the Project Director (if outside of the university) and the university. They oversee completion for university credit, including grading, overseeing that deadlines are met and all forms are completed and turned into the Environment Program director and Office Manager.

3. Complete the following forms:

  • Independent Study Course Form: To register for the Environment Program Capstone Experience, visit the College of Arts & Sciences website CAS Online Forms. Faculty should download and complete the form and collect the appropriate signatures either on the form or written out in the email chain. (click here for an easy to fill out Word version, or here for a pdf copy). A syllabus must also be submitted, containing the list of assignments and points-to-be-earned per assignment and a point-based grading scale.  Syllabi without this information cannot be accepted. Please also review the syllabus against this Syllabus Checklist for Independent Studies. The independent study form and syllabus must be turned in at the beginning of the semester in which the capstone experience takes place. Faculty: after signing, forward the form for processing directly to: 
    • CAS students with last names A-J, Sara Clark, srclark@loyno.edu
    • CAS students with last names K-Z, Edouard Crago, edcrago@loyno.edu
    • CAS Honors students with last names A-Z, Christina DiMaggio cedimagg@loyno.edu
  • Internships or Research with 3rd parties; Form and Syllabus to be Generated by Faculty Only: 

    Please direct any questions to Director of Career Development & Student Employment, Katie Bandy Krikorian, kbandy@loyno.edu, and the appropriate Dean's office contact from above.

    Students and Faculty work together to document the internship before any work is begun. Handshake approvals must be done before the internship form can be submitted by the faculty, and the faculty must submit the internship form and the syllabus before the student reports to work. See the flow below for how to complete all the documentation on time and in the correct order.

    1. Students. Before you start your internship or research experience, report your internship details into Handshake via your SSO. See the step by step guide or video tutorial. Attach a job description letter from your supervisor to the Handshake-upload (see example), and let your LUNO advisor know that it has been done.

    2. Faculty. On behalf of the student, as soon as the initial Handshake info is done and confirmed by Katie Bandy, complete the internship form (which is the same form used for independent studies, but with the A497 internship course-code) AND the syllabus, and email both (with all appropriate signatures either on the form or written out in the email chain) to the appropriate Dean's office contact listed above.

    ----If, and only if, required by the 3rd party, ensure that this MOU with the internship provider or research professor is completed and submitted to Katie Bandy Krikorian (kbandy@loyno.edu) for review and for the Loyola signature. When signed by Katie, forward the MOU, the independent study form, and the syllabus to the appropriate Dean's office contact listed above.

    NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTATION MUST BE COMPLETED AND POSTED BEFORE THE INTERNSHIP BEGINS.

    3. Students. Towards the end of your internship experience, your internship supervisor will be asked to complete a performance evaluation that reviews your demonstration of career competencies. This evaluation will be automatically administered via email from Handshake.

    4. Faculty. Post the final grade in LORA.

  • Submit an interim and final report to the ENVA Project Director/Sponsor: The nature, length, and due date of these reports will be specified by the Project Director/Sponsor at the beginning of the project and should appear on your syllabus. A copy of the final report should also be sent to the Environment Program director and should include a reflection of how this experience has contributed to the student's environmental education.
  • Your Project Director must submit an Evaluation Sheet to the Sponsor and Environment Program Director at the completion of the project: Download the form here.

All of the above MUST be completed by May 1st of the graduation year, August 1st of the graduation summer, or a date set by the Project Sponsor. 

  • Students are responsible for meeting with their Project Director/Sponsor for approval at each step until the Capstone Experience is complete.

  • Students must also meet with the Environment Program director for final approval prior to graduation.

  • The Project Director/Sponsor will assign a grade for the course that assesses the student’s performance based on the Project Director’s/Sponsor’s evaluation and the student’s written report. 

4. Poster Templates and Printer Video:

Here are links to standard poster sizes.   Create your poster with one of these (set to 48W x 36H), create a PDF, and print the PDF using a USB drive.