The Field Projects course integrates theory and practice by providing to students an intense real-world challenge in their interest areas, while offering to community organizations and agencies new insights into priority projects and concerns. All UEP master’s candidates take Field Projects: Planning and Practice during the spring semester of their first year. Student teams of three to five work as consultants for their chosen client. They do background research, gather critical data, provide a neutral assessment of proposed strategies, address high-priority concerns and revise strategic plans. By encompassing many relevant competencies, Field Projects furnishes students with an opportunity to refine problem-solving and professional skills, while testing current theory. The course includes weekly classroom meetings as well as much additional contact with instructors and with clients. Field Projects culminates at the end of April with team presentations to the class, the project sponsor and the community. Here are examples of recent Field Projects analyses and clientst:

UEP’s internship requires students to invest at least 150 hours of supervised work in an area of academic and professional interest. Many internship sponsors are nonprofits or public agencies, while some students work with private consulting firms and others choose a research internship connected to a university-based project. Most internships are completed in summer following the first year of the program. Students are expected to secure their own internship placements, although faculty are available for assistance and advice throughout the process. In addition, the Department posts internship listings on a weekly basis. Many internships offer a stipend and in some cases additional funding is available. For more details about the UEP internship requirement, please visit this link: Internship Requirements (PDF) Before starting their internship, students are required to complete and sign a contract with their internship sponsor. The contract is then approved by UEP’s Coordinator of Field-based Education. For a copy of the contract form, please click here: Internship Agreement (PDF)

• County of Marin (Calif.) Sustainability Team, San Rafael, CA
• Charles River Watershed Association, Weston, MA
• Irish Immigration Center, Boston, MA
• Massachusetts Association of CDCs, Boston, MA
• Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance, Boston, MA
• One Family, Inc., Boston, MA
• The Trust for Public Land (TPL), Boston, MA
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 1, Boston, MA
• United Way, Boston, MA
• Department of Public Works, City of Cambridge, MA
• Ocean River Institute, Cambridge, MA
• Somerville Community Corp., Somerville, MA
• Planning and Development Department, Town of Ipswich, MA
• Waltham Land Trust, Waltham, MA
• Santa Fe Watershed Association, Santa Fe, NM
• Project for Public Spaces, New York, NY
• Clean Water Action, Providence, RI
• Global Development and Environment Institute, Tufts University
• EcoSecurities, Rio de Jeneiro, Brazil
• Ministerio del Ambiente y Energia, Despacho del Viceministro, San Jose, Costa Rica