Category: Announcements, Updates, and Reminders

Looking for an internship this upcoming summer?

Watch this presentation to get resources on research and job internships in the field of environmental science! Many research internships have application deadlines in January and February, NOW during the beginning of winter break is a great time to get a head start on these applications!

1. Ask your professors/ employers/ mentors for recommendation letters or reference contacts early or as soon as possible! Express to them why you want to apply for an internship and why they are an important to your academic and professional success. They will need time in order to write you a genuine letter of recommendation and submit it to the internship you are applying for. Remember: when applications are due, ALL parts of an application including the letters of recc are required for a complete submission.

2. Allow someone else to read your cover letter or statement of purpose. Someone else reading your writing is a new voice outside of your head which could improve the message you are getting across. YOU know your capabilities and skills, but how can you effectively describe that to someone else?

3. Stay organized with your applications. Create a spreadsheet or write down all the programs you are applying for, all required application materials, when they will notify you if you’re moving into the next round of review, when the internship will actual begin- ALL important information about the internship.

4. Apply anyways! Even if you do not believe you qualify. You are striving for new experiences and to grow your technical skills and background, most application review boards will understand this. It is completely fine if you want to do research but haven’t had any experience yet, that is why you are applying! Applying to all opportunities that you are interested in will increases your chance of landing a meaningful experience.

Application Deadline: March 31, 2022

Looking for for motivated and enthusiastic rising juniors to be peer advisors for the Environmental Science program!

What does it mean to be a Peer Advisor?

Peer advisors for the Environmental Science Program are here to support their peers with academic and college advice to enhance their student success!

Responsibilities as a Peer Advisor:

• Collaborating and organizing community-building and networking events for ENVSCI students throughout the semester
• Holding office hours to answer questions about courses, enrollment, and inquiries from current and prospective students
• Maintaining the EnviSci Blog and Instagram and all social media communication
• Creating an inclusive and safe space for all students in the major for holistic student success

Training and responsibilities would actively begin in late August, but there the option for part-time summer employment assisting with New Student Orientation in June and July. The expectation is that this position continues throughout your senior year. Academic credit is earned in your junior year, with paid positions possible in your senior year.

—— LINK TO GOOGLE FORM APPLICATION ——

https://forms.gle/tbJ6iTQheGcDAdd66

This is a reminder that the add/drop period will end after this Monday, February 7th! This means that until the end of the day on Wednesday, students are free to enroll in or drop courses using Spire without any record on their transcript. To avoid any complications with adding and/or dropping courses, keep these following points in mind:

1. The minimum credit load to maintain status as a full time student is 12 credits. Be careful your credit load does not drop below 12 credits if you decide to drop a course. The best way to avoid this? Enroll in another course before dropping the first one. Once enrolled in this second course, you can go ahead and drop the first one.
2. Students enrolling in a course during add/drop are responsible for any course material or work assigned in the first week. If you enroll in a new course and aren’t sure what you’re responsible for, contact the professor.
3. After Wednesday, students wishing to drop courses will still be able to do so through October 28th. However, between September 8th and October 29th dropped classes will appear with a “W” meaning “withdrawn” on students’ transcripts.

And as always, if you have questions about add/drop, don’t hesitate to contact an advisor.

Join Peer Advising Office Hours

Now through February 7th

The EnviSci Peer Advisors are a resource for YOU as a student to get advice on courses to take, understanding your academic requirements, or be of any type of academic assistance.

Virtual through ZOOM: https://umass-amherst.zoom.us/j/626315988?pwd=a0FEaUVTYkQzZnV4ZlYvRTcxa3JLUT09

Meeting ID: 626 315 988 Passcode: 387700

A step-by-step guide to learning about our major:

1. Check out our major requirements (hint… we’re a science major)


2. Meet with a Peer Advisor in person or on Zoom


3. Explore Career Opportunities with this major


4. Make an appointment with a faculty advisor to declare EnviSci

This is a reminder that the add/drop period will end after this Wednesday, September 8th! This means that until the end of the day on Wednesday, students are free to enroll in or drop courses using Spire without any record on their transcript. To avoid any complications with adding and/or dropping courses, keep these following points in mind:

1. The minimum credit load to maintain status as a full time student is 12 credits. Be careful your credit load does not drop below 12 credits if you decide to drop a course. The best way to avoid this? Enroll in another course before dropping the first one. Once enrolled in this second course, you can go ahead and drop the first one.
2. Students enrolling in a course during add/drop are responsible for any course material or work assigned in the first week. If you enroll in a new course and aren’t sure what you’re responsible for, contact the professor.
3. After Wednesday, students wishing to drop courses will still be able to do so through October 28th. However, between September 8th and October 29th dropped classes will appear with a “W” meaning “withdrawn” on students’ transcripts.

And as always, if you have questions about add/drop, don’t hesitate to contact an advisor.

We are looking for motivated and enthusiastic rising juniors to be peer advisors for the Environmental Science program for the upcoming school year!

Peer Advisors organize community-building and networking events for ENVSCI students each semester, as well as holding office hours to answer questions and inquiries from current and prospective students. Peer Advisors are also responsible for maintaining our ENVSCI Blog and social media messaging. Responsibilities and training would begin in September and continue throughout your senior year. Academic credit is earned in your junior year, with paid positions possible in your senior year.

Virtual interviews will be held in late March/Early April.

Application deadline: Friday, March 5th

The application has been sent out to all rising juniors, so look for it in your emails! If you have any questions you can contact the peer advisors:

nyunesperez@umass.edu

esirkovich@umass.edu

lmusshorn@umass.edu

In case you missed it last week, the University announced the official pass/fail policy for courses taken during the spring 2021 semester. Here are the key takeaways from the announcement.

• Students may elect the pass/fail option for up to three courses, including courses used to satisfy major, minor, and graduation requirements.
• Electing the pass/fail option must be done by Tuesday, May 4th.
• As per usual, students may revoke the pass/fail option after spring 2021 grades are posted, meaning a letter grade will appear for the course(s) for which the pass/fail option was revoked. This can be done until six months after a student graduates.
• Departments and major programs have the option to view the letter grade underlying a pass/fail grade for prerequisite classes in order to enforce the minimum grade requirements for advanced courses. In these cases, the student’s transcript will still display a pass or fail, and their GPA will still be unaffected.
• Students in 600+ level (i.e. graduate level) classes can elect satisfactory/fail for available courses. Students must contact their professor to make elect this option, and it will count toward the three permitted pass/fail courses for the semester.

For a more detailed description of the pass/fail policy for this semester, visit this webpage. As always, if you have any questions about this, feel free to contact us!

Welcome to the Spring 2021 semester, and welcome back to students living on campus!

If you are considering participating in research, there are a number of different face-to-face and remote research opportunities open to Environmental Science students. Click here to view the list of current opportunities.

Although the priority deadline (Monday, 2/1) has passed for submitting applications to these positions, it is always worth reaching out and seeing if applications are still being accepted.

And remember to keep up with your best practices regarding COVID-19, whether you’re on campus, in the Amherst area, or anywhere else in the world! Refer to this webpage for information from UMass about testing and other news regarding the pandemic.

Don’t forget, this Friday, 11/20 is the FINAL DEADLINE for choosing to elect the Pass/Fail option for your Fall 2020 courses.

Students may choose to have up to three of their courses as Elective Pass/Fail. Normally, students are only able to change one course per semester to Elective Pass/Fail. To switch from Letter-Grading to Elective Pass/Fail for your courses, click on the “Other Academic” dropdown menu (located next to the weekly course schedule) on the Spire Student Center, and select the option “Pass/Fail Elect.”

Students may choose Elective Pass/Fail grading for any and all types of courses, including those that satisfy graduation requirements. Normally, Elective Pass/Fail grading is reserved for elective courses that do not count toward graduation requirements. However, this semester the University is allowing all students to use Elective Pass/Fail grading for any and all types of courses, including GenEd courses, courses for a major, courses for a minor, courses for a certificate, etc.

More information on the Elective Pass/Fail option is available on the University Registrar’s website.

If you are having trouble deciding whether Elective Pass/Fail is the right choice for some of your classes, don’t wait! Contact an advisor right away!