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The Capstone Program pairs small teams of students (usually 3-4 grad students per team) with partner organizations in an 11-month project (mid-Jan – early-Dec) to address real-world environmental, sustainability and business challenges. In many instances, MENV graduate students serve as external consultants to help partners answer questions that they have about their business or explore areas that the organizations don’t have the time or resources to do on their own. Ultimately, the projects result in the production of professional-level, valuable products/services for client organizations, including management plans (and other planning documents), public awareness and advocacy campaigns, product proposals, proofs of concept, product and program prototypes and other relevant work products.

You can learn more about the Capstone Project:ÌýWhat is a Capstone Project? | Masters of the Environment | °µÍø½ûÇø

Here is a Capstone Partner guide:Ìý2025 Capstone Partner Quick Facts (colorado.edu)

For more instructions on how to submit a proposal and what it should include, here are two useful resources:

Contact:ÌýAlice.Reznickova@colorado.eduÌý

The Rural Technical Assistance Program (RTAP) is a partnership between the Masters of the Environment (MENV) program with theÌý,Ìý, and theÌý to provide rural Colorado communities planning assistance for outdoor recreation and Main Street development.Ìý Graduate student teams take on the role of community consultants and walk their partner communities through a facilitated planning assistance process to develop a Community Action Plan for the next 12-24 months. CSU Extension then provides support for the subsequent 2 year period to assist partner communities with the implementation of the Community Action Plan.

To learn more about the RTAP and for application instructions, visit:Ìý

Contact:ÌýNatalie.Ooi@colorado.eduÌý

The B Impact Clinic is a spring-semester course in which teams of 3-5 graduate students each support one local company seeking B Corp certification or recertification. The course offers graduate students a unique opportunity to build real-world sustainability assessment, consulting, and project management experience while providing significant value to client companies. Through project-based learning, students gain practical skills, expand their professional networks, and deepen their understanding of the B Corp movement.

Four local companies considering B Corp certification or recertification are selected each Fall. Partners represent a wide range of industries, and include small, medium, and large companies. It is important that client companies and their teams have the capacity to meet with the student teams weekly for one hour throughout the semester and spend approximately one additional hour per week gathering the documents and data needed for the certification process.

The project kicks off in late January and wraps up the first week in May. Once established, each consulting team will develop a team contract and scope of work. Teams will then assess the company's current practices through the B Impact Assessment and provide score improvement recommendations to get clients meaningfully closer to achieving B Corp certification.

If you are interested in becoming a partner, please contact Maria McDonald atÌýmaria@footprintsustainability.coÌý

The ORE Project Courses pairs small teams of students (usually 3-4 grad students per team) with partner organizations in a 7 or 16-week project to address real-world challenges related to the Outdoor Recreation Economy.

The ORE students will utilize the skills and knowledge from previous coursework to analyze salient, current policy, business, community development, or inclusivity challenges in the outdoor recreation economy space to address a need of the partner organizations. In many instances, OREÌý graduate students serve as external consultants to help partners from all sectors of the outdoor industry analyze, research, develop and implement innovative strategies, processes, and/or solutions.

Ultimately, the projects result in the production of professional-level, valuable products/services for client organizations, including management plans (and other planning documents), public awareness and advocacy campaigns, product proposals, proofs of concept, product and program prototypes and other relevant work products.

7 week projects run across the academic year (spring, summer and fall) while the 16 week projects are during the Fall semester (end Aug - mid Dec). If you are interested in becoming a partner, please contactÌýLydia.Lawhon@colorado.eduÌý

TheÌýEnvironmental Studies Internship ProgramÌýseeks partners who enable students to gain practical experience by working at a professional-level for an organization, government agency, research lab, planning group, an advocacy organization, or other group that solves problems and develops policies. See example partners on our Internship Postings Page.

How to host an ENVS intern at your organization

• Advertise your internship by sending it to the ENVS Faculty Sponsor, Warren Cook (warren.cook@colorado.edu), who will share it with interested students.
  • Design your internship asÌý120 work hours (e.g., ~8 hrs/week for a Fall/Spring Semesters or ~12 hrs/week for a Summer Semester), which is most commonly sought by ENVS interns to earn 3 credits. (40 hr and 80 hr internships are possible but less common.)
  • Advertise well in advance of the intended semester for best results.

After your interview process, complete theÌýInternship Agreement Form with your chosen internship candidate. Your candidate will share another form with you later on to evaluate their performance.Ìý