Internships

The Project Management department oversees and coordinates the design and construction of all new construction, renovation, and major maintenance projects for the University Park Campus. Interns will assist with coordinating project resources, documentation, tracking budgets, and supporting both office and in field activities, including updating project schedules, participating in construction site visits, design meetings, and helping with procurement. This internship offers exposure to project coordination, construction administration, budgeting, Project Management Information Systems (PMIS) and collaboration with customers, architects, engineers, and contractors. Students pursuing degrees in architectural engineering, construction management, or engineering are encouraged to apply.

The Design & Engineering Services Electrical Engineering Group supports the campus’s existing building electrical systems and campus electrical utility networks. Intern work duties will include but are not limited to: preparing documents, updates and revisions to the University Design and Construction Standards, assisting troubleshooting electrical systems, reviewing NEC/IEEE codes, drafting in AutoCAD, performing calculations, and assisting with on-site building evaluations. This internship offers exposure to building power, lighting, and emergency backup power systems. Interns may also have some exposure or learning opportunities related to power distribution, utility underground distribution, micro-grids, combined heat and power plants, and natural gas/diesel power generation. Students pursuing electrical, electro-mechanical, architectural engineering, or related fields are encouraged to apply.

Design & Engineering Services Civil Engineering Group encompasses all stages of design from initial feasibility studies through concept development, bid document stages, and construction support. Projects primarily focus on campus beautification, roadway, parking, sidewalk, landscape/hardscape, stormwater management, and utility projects across University Park Campus and Commonwealth Campuses. This internship offers exposure to AutoCAD Civil3d to prepare construction drawings and details and other CAD related drawings. Interns will also be responsible for developing and preparing engineering proposals (Word), attending job conferences and other project-related meetings, and documenting and distributing meeting minutes. Additionally, interns will provide support using our PMIS system, E-Builder, for construction administration tasks, including preparing bulletins, responding to RFI’s, and reviewing submittals.

The Design & Engineering Services Mechanical Engineering Group provides mechanical engineering design services for construction projects and facility support across PSU campuses. Intern duties may include assisting with HVAC, plumbing, and control system evaluations, updating mechanical design standards, performing heating and cooling load calculations, drafting in AutoCAD, and supporting construction and renovation projects. This internship offers exposure to mechanical design, building energy analysis, and system performance evaluations. Interns may also gain experience with building automation, energy conservation strategies, and construction administration tasks. Students pursuing mechanical, architectural engineering, or related fields are encouraged to apply.

This role will support campus-wide sustainability education and engagement initiatives through program development, outreach, and strategic projects. Key responsibilities include assisting with the Sustainable Labs Program, Green Paws Program and other employee training, peer engagement opportunities for staff, and the university-wide Sustainability Employee Resource Group. The intern will help create educational resources, track impact, research best practices at other institutions, and integrate global sustainability goals into Penn State’s professional development efforts. This role provides hands-on experience in sustainability strategy, program implementation, and community engagement within a large university setting.

This role will support sustainability-related data collection, analysis and reporting. Responsibilities include tracking and documenting carbon emissions, purchasing, water, waste, travel, fleet, procurement, and energy use data; updating public-facing Power BI dashboards; identifying, collecting, analyzing and reporting data for internal and external assessments of sustainability performance; and recommending strategies for data collection and analysis processes. Work for this position will take place remotely with required virtual and in-person meetings. Hands-on experience will be gained in sustainability data collection, reporting, and analysis as well as strategy for community engagement around that data.

This role will be focused on identifying and tracking energy savings initiatives with a particular focus on energy savings generated from the Sustainable Lab Program. Responsibilities include coordinating with staff and other interns to prioritize energy efficiency investments and outreach; maintaining and reporting data; recommending strategies for energy efficiency investments; tracking and documenting investments and impacts and developing outreach and education materials. Most work for this position will take place remotely with required virtual and in-person meetings. This position will give hands-on experience in analyzing building and equipment energy savings; calculating and prioritizing energy savings investments; and collecting and sharing energy-related data with building occupants.  

Waste Reduction and Recycling Intern: This Pepsi-sponsored position supports waste reduction and recycling efforts for the university community in partnership with the Athletics Sustainability Engagement Intern. Key responsibilities will include developing and implementing strategies to improve waste reduction, increase waste diversion from the landfill, increase recycling participation and reduce recycling contamination. This will include creating educational materials for campus stakeholders; generating and implementing weekend football programs; engaging with the campus community through tabling, events and classroom presentations; conducting building waste station audits; and engaging with commonwealth campus recycling efforts. The hands-on experience will build skills in community engagement, event coordination, marketing for behavior change, and data-driven decision-making.

This Pepsi-sponsored position is focused on large event sustainability, especially football and other athletics events in partnership with the Waste Reduction & Recycling Intern. The intern will continue building the momentum of the Tailgate Ambassadors program to educate and engage tailgating fans to reduce waste and recycle more. Key responsibilities include selecting and training Tailgate Ambassadors, planning and coordinating gameday Tailgate Ambassador activities and recycling shakers in the stadium, collecting and analyzing athletics-related sustainability data, creating resources for educating about and marketing sustainability, and assisting with public programming as needed. The hands-on experience will build skills in community engagement, event and personnel coordination, marketing for behavior change, and data-driven decision-making.