Internship Programs
Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA) offers structured internships to current full-time or part-time college students (or recent graduates within 12 months of course completion) that will directly benefit their education and ultimately their career. We offer full-time internships in the following areas:
• Aquatics/Water Quality
• Education
• Graphic Design
• Hospitality/Guest Services
• Marine Mammal Training
• Non-profit Management
• Photography
• Sea Turtle Nesting
• Sea Turtle Rehabilitation
• Enrichment Team
Aquatics/Water Quality
Aquatics interns will assist in maintaining the water quality and appearance for all the exhibits at our facility. This includes daily water quality testing, recordkeeping, backwashing, plumbing and maintenance of filters and pumps, and caring for animals in fish systems including sharks, stingrays and other fish. Candidates should be pursuing a degree in chemistry, engineering, marine biology, or another related field.
Education
The Education Department interns are provided a very broad internship opportunity to see how the Aquarium works as a whole, and to give the student the opportunity to interact with all the departments within the Aquarium. Interns help with the summer camp program which involves snorkeling in our local waters. They also assist with festivals at various Tampa Bay locations, and classroom presentations at local schools. In addition, interns give Behind the Scenes tours, and Hands-On lectures to groups of various ages. Interns may also help out on the Sea Life Safari boat trips, where the crew pulls a trawl net and educates passengers about the critters and ecosystem. Candidates seeking an education department internship should be pursuing a degree in education, marine biology, environmental science, or another related field.
Graphic Design
Graphic Design interns will assist in manipulating photos and designing various ads, brochures, postcards, and more at our facility. This includes daily scanning, photo manipulation, ad layout, postcard & brochure layout . Candidate must be familiar with InDesign & Photoshop CS3 or CS4. Candidates should be pursuing a degree in Graphic Design.
Hospitality/Guest Services
Hospitality interns will assist in the daily operations of guest services. The candidate will assist in greeting guests and explaining the programs that we offer such as Behind the Scenes tours, Sea Life Safari boat trips, and Dolphin Encounter programs. They will assist booking after-hours events like weddings, corporate events, and birthday parties as well as selling memberships and animal adoptions. They will also educate the public on the mission of Clearwater Marine Aquarium and ensure guest satisfaction. This intern will be directly assisting the Guest Services Director and should be pursuing a Hospitality or related degree.
Marine Mammal Training
The Marine Mammal Training internship at Clearwater Marine Aquarium is designed to give students an inside look into what it takes to care for marine animals, with emphasis on Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins and North American River Otters. We use training as a way to stimulate our animals since they can never rejoin their counterparts in the open ocean. Our animals are trained for medical management behaviors, like blood draw, gastric and fecal samples, and even ultrasound. We also train mentally stimulating behaviors like mimicking and match-to-sample behaviors to challenege their intelligence and the ‘fun’ aerial behaviors such as bows, somersaults and speed swims to give them the same physical workout they would receive in the wild. During your internship, you will learn how to prepare diets, maintain exhibits, provide enrichment and mental stimulation, keep behavioral records, and give public presentations to educate our visitors about these amazing animals and environmental conservation. You will also learn how trainers use principles such as positive reinforcement, classical conditioning and shaping to train these animals. Due to the fact that internships are custom designed to each individual’s skill level, you may or may not have the opportunity to assist trainers in behaviors, or even maintain some established behaviors by the end of your internship. Candidates should be able to perform physically demanding duties and be enrolled in a four-year college program in psychology, biology, marine biology or another related field and have some hands-on animal experience, such as volunteering at an animal shelter or completing other marine mammal internships at other facilities. SCUBA, First Aid and CPR certification is also a plus.
Non-Profit Management
Do you want to learn more about non-profit management? If so, spend some time interning with the Development Director and Marketing Manager learning the ins and outs of the non-profit world. Some of the duties will include: data entry, donor software management and list maintenance, donor recognition, donor level benefit assigning, special event coordination, off site representation, hotel marketing, advertising pitches and general administrative duties. Candidates should be pursuing a degree in management, development or marketing.
Photography
Do you have that eye to take great photos? If so, join us for a hands-on experience taking fabulous photos! This opportunity includes, taking pictures of guests posing with our dolphins, photo printing, both on-site & off-site special events, product/retail photography, dolphin encounters and more! Knowledge of digital cameras a must. Fast mover needed! Candidates should be pursuing a degree in Photography &/or 2-Dimensional design.
Sea Turtle Nesting (summer Internship ONLY)
The Sea Turtle Nesting internship is designed to give college students an up close and Nestingpersonal look into sea turtles and their annual nesting patterns. Staff and interns will patrol over 26 miles of beach every morning to search for sea turtle tracks, a sign that a female has laid a nest. The interns will be required to assist in sighting nests, marking and caging nests, collecting and entering scientific data, assisting hatchlings to the ocean after hatching, and public education. Candidates should be able to work early morning and late night shifts and be currently enrolled in a four-year college program in biology, marine biology, environmental science, ecology or another related field.
Sea Turtle Rehabilitation
The Sea turtle Rehabilitation internship gives students a hands-on learning experience caring for sea turtles currently undergoing rehabilitation as well as sea turtles who remain as permanent residents at CMA. Students will be able to assist in diet preparation, feeding records, exhibit maintenance, medical examinations and procedures as well as enrichment. Interns will also assist in giving public presentation to guests of CMA to educate them about these protected and endangered species. Candidates should be able to perform physically demanding duties and be currently enrolled in a four-year college program in veterinary science, biology, marine biology, environmental science, or another related field.
Enrichment Team
Enrichment interns will have the opportunity to learn how to maintain a successful enrichment program, by directly assisting the Coordinator in the planning and implementation of various enrichment goals. Primary responsibilities will include planning of new and existing enrichment initiatives for Atlantic Bottlenose dolphins, North American river otters, and several species of sea turtles; creation of a monthly enrichment calendar; public narration for the daily Enrichment Presentation; educating guests about our enrichment program and involving them whenever possible; contacting outside organizations to obtain material donations for larger enrichment projects; and collaborating with outside groups to organize structured enrichment activities. Enrichment interns will need to be very detail-oriented and mindful of protocol, in order to ensure the overall safety of enrichment initiatives for the animals. Ideal candidates are enthusiastic, imaginative, self-motivated, possess leadership skills, and should be able to tackle challenges with confidence. Experience with public relations and community involvement, as well as the development of new programs, is preferable. Although direct involvement in the animals’ daily lives constitutes a majority of the time required for this internship, hands-on contact with animals may be minimal at most, and is not guaranteed.
TO APPLY FOR AN INTERNSHIP:
Please submit a completed Internship Application, Resume, Cover Letter, Letter of Reference and $25 to process your application. You will be contacted by the volunteer coordinator after the due date to confirm your application was received. Your application will then be reviewed and you will be contacted about your internship. Decisions are typically made two to three weeks after the application due date.
Internship Season Approx. Start & End Dates* Application Due Date
Spring January – May October 1st
Summer May – August February 1st
Fall August – December June 1st
*Start and end dates are flexible to accommodate your school schedule.
Requirements:
Our internships are only offered to full-time or part-time college students and college graduates seeking a degree and a career in a field that complements Clearwater Marine Aquarium’s internships. Our internships are unpaid and require a minimum of 30 hours per week. Due to the competitive nature of the internship program, please ensure your application packet is complete. Incomplete or late applications may not be considered. At the completion of a Clearwater Marine Aquarium internship, candidates are usually offered a letter of reference to be submitted with any future job or internship opportunities.
For Internship Application click here
If you have any questions about the Clearwater Marine Aquarium’s Internship Program, please contact Dawn DeSantis, our Intern Coordinator, at ddesantis@cmaquarium.org or 727-441-1790 x230. Thank you for your interest in our facility and good luck!
