Biology Internship Course - BIO400

Applications now open, deadline March 31, 2023, 11:59PM

This course provides senior (4th year and beyond) Biology students with the opportunity to apply their life science knowledge and skills in a work placement for academic credit. Placements are unpaid and require 200 hours of placement work over the full academic year. This equates to approximately one day of placement work per week. Placement hours can be completed on site or remotely (dependent on, and delineated by, the University and placement site) and within regular business hours (Monday – Friday, 9am – 6pm). Biology placements can be throughout the GTA in both the private (e.g. pharmaceutical industry, biotech companies, etc.) and public (e.g. hospitals, government agencies, etc.) sectors. The BIO400Y5 Experiential Learning Officer arranges placements for students after the successful completion of an initial interview, skills assessment, and resume review.

Best efforts are made to place students in sites that are appropriate to their academic backgrounds, interests, and experiences, but there are no guarantees as to the type of placement that is provided. Students will be asked to attend an interview with their provided placement site supervisors prior to beginning their placement work. All placements are subject to agreement by both the placement site and the student. Final acceptance into the course is dependent on being successfully accepted as an intern with a placement site. BIO400Y5 is a unique opportunity to experience a workplace setting.

There will be bi-weekly class meetings from September to April. A year-end report and a presentation are required to complete this course.

PLACEMENT:

· Not all candidates who apply will be accepted into BIO400 due to space limitations. Preliminary acceptance into the course is based upon a successful application package and a successful interview with the Course Coordinator(s). Best efforts are made to place students at sites that are appropriate to their academic backgrounds, interests, and experiences, but there are no guarantees as to the type of placement that is provided. Students will be asked to attend an interview with their provided placement site supervisors prior to beginning their placement work. Final acceptance into the course is dependent on the official acceptance of a student as an intern with a placement site.

· The course requires 200 placement hours, which equates to one day of placement work per week. Successfully accepted BIO400 student interns must plan their course timetable to allow for 8-10 hours of placement work per week throughout the academic year.

· It is highly recommended that international students who are interested in applying for BIO400 visit the UTM International Education Centre (IEC) to determine any parameters regarding eligibility for participating in placement work for academic internship courses.

· Placements can be remote, in-person or hybrid dependent on Government and University policies, rules, and regulations instituted in response to the changing circumstances surrounding COVID-19.

STUDENT REQUIREMENT:

Placement and participation in this course are limited to students who meet the following criteria:

· Registered as a full-time, degree student at UTM for the entire 2023-2024 academic year

· Completed a minimum of 15.0 credits, including a statistics course, by May 2023

· Minimum GPA of 3.0 in most recent 10.0 credits

· Fourth year standing in a Biology specialist or Biology major program

· Students cannot take BIO481 or have a concurrent enrolment in any other internship, research, or ROP course while taking a BIO400 course

· Students cannot complete BIO481 and BIO400 simultaneously

NOTES:

- Students enrolled in one of the Biology specialist programs will be given priority.

- Not all excellent candidates who apply to take this course can be accepted due to space limitations. Marks are not the final basis for acceptance decisions.

- Your entire application package must be received by the submission deadline.

- Failure to follow the application instructions and errors in completing the form can affect your application status. Be sure to take care when applying.
 

Successfully accepted BIO400Y5 students must plan their course timetable to allow for 8-10 hours of placement work per week throughout the academic year. Placements can be remote, in-person or hybrid, dependent on Government and University policies, rules, and regulations instituted in response to the changing circumstances surrounding COVID-19.

Choosing BIO400 or BIO481?

We understand that many students are confused about the differences between BIO400 and BIO481. Students are not able to complete both courses for credit. Last March we held an information session for interested students. Current student, alumni, faculty and staff spoke about their experiences and answered questions about the two courses, helping students make informed decisions regarding their course selection.

Video Link: https://play.library.utoronto.ca/watch/773f5ac89d9bc2aeb4955ef0f8899f12

Questions about these courses? Contact stephanie.dorego@utoronto.ca