Internship Opportunities

Interested in doing an Animal Behavior internship for academic credit?

Check out some of the approved ABEH internship options

The Program in Animal Behavior has established partnerships with great organizations in Bloomington and beyond, which offer internship opportunities to our students.

** If you see 2 Asterisks these internships we know require student fees to participate.

Companion + Farm Animal

Bloomington, Indiana

Visit The Arlington Heights Veterinary Hospital Website

Bloomington, Indiana

Founded out of a deep passion for horses, Big Star Stables is committed to offering top-quality horse breeding, training, grooming, and boarding services in Bloomington. Interns at Big Star Stables will gain skills and knowledge of horse care and will be an important part of keeping operations running smoothly.

Visit The Big Star Stables Website

Bloomington, Indiana

Visit The BloomingPaws Website

Bloomington, Indiana

Bloomington Animal Care and Control is the primary provider of animal-related services for Bloomington and Monroe County. Its principal activities include sheltering stray and unwanted animals; connecting lost companion animals with their homes; maintaining the pet adoption program, both at the Animal Shelter and at off-site locations; maintaining a fostering program in which shelter companion animals reside in temporary homes; educating the community about animal care and behavior via guided tours of the shelter, free literature, and expert advice from staff; producing a weekly television program (Pets Without Partners), including education on animal care and behavior and featuring companion animals available for adoption; enforcing animal control ordinances; investigating cruelty and neglect cases; and providing 24-hour emergency rescue for injured animals. Volunteers and interns provide dog walking, cat care services, take photos of available animals, write pet descriptions, provide socialization and extra attention to animals in need, conduct animal personality tests, assist with clerical needs, and serve as Adoption Counselors to help potential adopters find a well-suited companion animal for their home.

Visit The Bloomington Animal Care and Control Website

Bloomington, Indiana

Visit The Combs Veterinary Clinic Website

Downers Grove, Illinois

Visit The Downers Grove Animal Hospital Website

Bloomington, Indiana

See The Fabulous Fur Pet Grooming Salon Website

Melbourne, Florida

See The Florida Wildlife Hospital Website

Bloomington, Indiana

See The Furry Friends Veterinary Website

Farmington, Utah

Visit the Home4Good Rescue Website

Murchison, Texas

Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch is the only HSUS site currently approved other programs/sites will require approval.

See The HSUS Black Beauty Ranch Website

Zionsville, Indiana - Headquarters

Indiana Univeristy Bloomington has a local chapter.

Visit The ICAN Website

Westville, Indiana

Visit The Independent Cat Society Website

Ellettsville, Indiana

Founded in 2004 by CISAB graduate Madalyn McKenney, Mad 4 My Dog Training, LLC is a state-of-the-art professional dog training business. Situated on over an acre of property in Ellettsville, Indiana, Mad 4 My Dog Training's facility boasts training, grooming, dog-walking, and even retail services. At the core of M4MD's training program is the philosophy that proper communication between dogs and people is the cornerstone of effective training. Internships at Mad 4 My Dog Training immerse students in the professional dog training industry; responsibilities include: assisting trainers during classes, assisting clients, sales tasks, administrative duties, and business/building upkeep. Internships at M4MD are a unique opportunity to apply animal behavior knowledge in a small-business setting.

Visit The Mad 4 My Dog Training, LLC Website

Bloomington, Indiana

Located about 10 miles southwest of town on Victor Pike, Marble Hill Farm raises Angus cattle, Shetland sheep, and laying hens, as well as horses, donkeys and goats.   Opportunities for interns include participating in research projects investigating multi-species foraging behavior in a rotational grazing system, internal parasites and forage type and quality, and social behaviors in relationship to feed intake, weight gain and reproductive success. Interns will work around different livestock and learn animal and health management strategies on an organic small farm. The Farm is especially interested in addressing issues of sustainability and food systems, both in their farming practicing and outreach efforts. They host biannual events (e.g., Spring Shearing Day, Fall Harvest) where students can share their expertise and knowledge with the public.

Visit The Marble Hill Farm Website

Bloomington, Indiana

Visit The Mannered Mutts Training Website

Indianapolis, Indiana

Visit The Pawsitive Partners Website

Bloomington, Indiana

Visit The PALS Website

Conservation + Sustainability + Wildlife Management and Rehabilitation

Finca Las Piedras, Peru

Visit The Alliance for a Sustainable Amazon Website

 

Gloucester, Massachusetts

Visit The Cape Ann Whale Watch's Website

Visit The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding Website

Global Sites

Only the Bali Sea Turtle Rescue project is approved all other sites and GoEco programs will require approval. 

See the GoEco - Bali Sea Turtle Rescue Website

Valparaiso, Indiana

Visit Human Indiana

Various Locations in Indiana

See The Indiana DNR Website

Nashville, Indiana

Visit The Indiana Raptor Center Website

Gulfport, Mississippi

Visit The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies Website 

Currently, only the Costa Rica site is an approved site. Other sites will require the approval process.

Visit The International Volunteer HQ Turtle Conservation Project Website

 

 

Zamboanguita, Negros Oriental Philippines

Visit the Marine Conservation Philippines Website

Valparaiso, Indiana

Visit The Moraine Wildlife Rehab Center Website

 

Bluffton, Indiana

Located in northern Indiana, Ouabache (Wabash) State Park is home to a small herd of bison.The Ouabache State Park bison are direct descendants of the original Yellowstone herd.  Interns have the opportunity to learn bison husbandry. Intern duties include bison pen maintenance, feed station maintenance and improvements, assisting with weekly feeding,  attending at least two bison presentations, updating the Park Bison Binder, assisting with design of new Bison interpretive signs, and assisting with other park needs.

Visit The IDNR Ouabache State Park Website

Key Largo, Florida

Visit The Quiescence Diving Services Website

South Bend, Indiana

Visit The Rescue Release Repeat Facebook Page

South Africa

Visit The Running Wild Cheetah Conservation Website

Suisun Marsh, California

Visit The Suisun Marsh and Wildlife Center Website

Various Locations in Southern Indiana

Sycamore Land Trust is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit conservation organization that has been protecting land, restoring habitat, and connecting people to nature in southern Indiana since 1990.

Find nature preserves to hike, discover a new habitat, and share the great outdoors with family and friends. Sycamore owns and cares for more than 11,418 acres on over 141 protected properties and maintains over 30 miles of trails on 13 preserves for free public use.

See The Sycamore Land Trust Website

San Diego, California

Visit The U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program Website

Bloomington, Indiana

WildCare Inc. provides wildlife-related services to Monroe and surrounding Counties. Their mission is to provide professional care to sick, orphaned and injured native wildlife then re- releasing them back to their natural habitat. Since 2001, they have taken in over 16,000 critters, including birds of prey, songbirds, reptiles, amphibians, opossums, raccoons, and deer. WildCare strives to meet all federal and state regulations for rehabilitation practices through continual education and working closely with local veterinarians. As an organization they offer many volunteer and intern opportunities such as direct animal care, cage building, fundraising and education. Volunteers are provided the chance to learn to care for these animals through hands on experience and training.


Visit The WildCare Website

Education + Outreach

If you have interest in education + outreach please look at the other Internship sections in addition to this list. Many animal care internships include education and outreach within their internship programs.

Nashville, Indiana

Visit The CYO Camp Rancho Framasa Website

Morgantown, Indiana

Camp Gallahue is currently the only Girls Scouts of America Camp approved for internship all others would need to go through the approval process.

Bloomington, Indiana

WonderLab offers exhibits of science adventure for children of all ages. Along with the museum, they offer special programs, camps and have an outreach program that visits schools, libraries and community centers. Live animal exhibits at the museum include honey bees, insects, spiders, fish, amphibians and reptiles. Interns work directly with the museum animals, are responsible for the daily care routine several times a week, and complete a project to enhance the animal exhibits at the museum.

Visit The WonderLab Website

Zoo + Aquarium

Harpursville, New York

Visit The Animal Adventure Park Website

Colorado Springs, Colorado

A leader in conservation, captive breeding and animal care, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo connects people with wildlife and wild places through experiences that inspire action. Interns will be given the opportunity to learn how to provide the highest quality care and husbandry of the animals in the area to which they are assigned and how to educate, entertain and provide exemplary guest service experiences to all zoo guests through various programs, activities and continuous guest interaction.

 

Visit The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Website

Albion, Indiana

Visit The Black Pine Animal Sanctuary Website

St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands

See The Coral World Ocean Park Website

Center Point, Indiana

The Exotic Feline Rescue Center is a nonprofit corporation that provides homes for life, stable social groups, enhanced environments, and veterinary care to several species of exotic felines including lions, tigers, bobcats, mountain lions and leopards. The nearly 200-acre sanctuary, at present, provides habitats for over 220 individual cats. They are open to the public and provide educational tours to all ages as well as internships to university students. Interns will be trained and involved in public education with daily public tours. They will also be involved in food preparation, feeding, cleaning and maintenance of the enclosures and veterinary care.

See The Exotic Feline Rescue Center Website

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Visit The Fort Wayne Children's Zoo Website

Bloomington, Indiana

At Goldleaf Hydroponics we have Bloomington’s largest collection on public display of reptiles and amphibians. Specimens include over 30 types of iguanas, geckos, lizards, monitors, chameleons, skinks, turtles, tegus, frogs, newts, salamanders, tortoises, snakes, and the collection frequently grows in diversity. The focus of this internship is reptile care and enclosure maintenance. Daily care consists of removing uneaten food and waste from the enclosures, giving fresh water to the animals, feeding fresh vegetables and insects to the appropriate animals, and wiping down the tanks. Water based enclosures need periodic water tests and changes. Tanks with media need to be watered in when necessary, and high humidity enclosures need misted occasionally. Certain large lizards and tortoises need daily baths or soaks in water. Interns will also tend and breed feeder insects like crickets, mealworms, superworms, flightless fruit flies, and rodents like mice and frozen rats. Intern is expected to devote 10 hours per week minimum at Goldleaf Hydroponics. 

See The Goldleaf Hydroponics Website

Indianapolis, Indiana

Application Deadlines:

  • Summer Session (May–August): March 10
  • Fall Session (September–December): July 10
  • Spring Session (January–April): November 10

Visit The Indianapolis Zoo Website

 

Wylie, Texas

Visit The In Sync Exotics Website

 

Duluth, Minnesota

Visit The Lake Superior Zoo Website

Chicago, Illinois

Visit The Lincoln Park Zoo Website

Little Rock, Arkansas

Visit The Little Rock Zoo Website

 

South Bend, Indiana

As Indiana's oldest zoo, the Potawatomi Zoo is a significant hub for animal enthusiasts in the state. Located in South Bend, Indiana and home to over 400 animals, the 23 acre zoo sees more than 200,000 guests each year. The zoo offers internships in both their education and marketing departments. Education interns work hands-on caring for animals and also assisting zoo staff with educational outreach programs. Internships at the Potawatomi Zoo are unpaid, for-credit internships that are available year-round.

Visit the Potawatomi Zoo Website

 

Rockwell, North Carolina

Visit The Tiger World Website

 

Newport, Kentucky

Visit the WAVE Foundation at Newport Aquarium Website

Litchfield Park, Arizona

Visit The Wildlife World Zoo Aquarium & Safari Park

Billings, Montana

Visit The ZooMontana Website