Natural History Institute, User Experience (UX) Design Internship, Summer 2024
Every summer, The Bill Lane Center for the American West offers many opportunities for Stanford undergraduates (including graduating seniors and co-terms) to work with organizations throughout the West. Through these internships, students can explore careers in natural history, conservation, land use, museum curation, resource management, energy and more.
All internships are full-time for nine to ten weeks during the summer. They are fully funded by the Lane Center with stipends ranging from $7,500 to $10,000.
The Lane Center has placed hundreds of interns in positions across the West since 2005. It has developed strong relationships with host organizations and works hard to ensure interns have successful and enriching experiences.
For more information about the internship program, please visit the FAQs page, or email Education Manager Corinne Thomas.
Details about the summer 2023 cohort of student interns and their placements can be found here.
Student reflections about the internship experience can be found by visiting the Out West student blog and the Lane Center Instagram channel.
Stipend Information:
The Bill Lane Center will provide a base stipend of $7,500 with additional funding for student financial aid and location, if applicable, up to $10,000.
Description of the Organization and the Internship:
The Natural History Institute (NHI) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting people to the natural world through a practice of natural history that integrates art, science, and the humanities. Our mission is to promote the reciprocal healing and enhanced wellbeing of humans and the rest of the natural world. We achieve this through various programs, events, and resources designed to foster a deeper connection to the environment.
The Natural History Institute is seeking a passionate and motivated intern to join our team for a summer internship as a Digital User Experience Intern. This is an excellent opportunity for a student or recent graduate looking to gain hands-on experience in evaluating and improving user experiences across our digital platforms.
The primary responsibilities of this role include assessing the user experience on our website, creating a plan to redesign our website, exploring opportunities for logo redesign, and considering potential revisions to our organization's name.
The intern will have the following responsibities:
1. Evaluate User Experience:
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Conduct in-depth evaluations of our website and other digital platforms.
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Analyze user interactions, navigation, and content accessibility.
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Identify areas for improvement and usability enhancements.
2. Produce Recommendations Report:
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Summarize findings and insights from the user experience evaluations.
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Develop a comprehensive report with actionable recommendations to enhance the digital user experience.
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Prioritize recommendations based on their potential impact and feasibility.
3. Website Redesign:
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Collaborate with the staff, followers, and contractor to propose improvements to the website layout, functionality, and overall design.
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Align the website's digital experience with the organization's mission and branding.
4. Logo Redesign:
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Assess the current logo and propose creative redesign concepts that align with the organization's values and mission.
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Collaborate with staff and Board of Trustees to create prototype logos for consideration.
5. Organization Name Revision:
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Research and analyze the potential benefits and challenges of revising the organization's name.
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Engage with stakeholders and provide recommendations for any changes or adjustments to the organization's name.
Internship Work Environment:
This is an in-person internship only. The ratio of indoor to outdoor work is highly variable - 75% indoors and 25% outdoors.
The intern will be part of a team which includes the program coordinator, the community outreach and collections manager, the development director -- and last summer's Lane Center intern!
Our office environment is very collaborative, and our interns have many opportunities each day to check in with their supervisor and exchange ideas.
A typical day for a UX intern will involve time split between working independently in the office on their projects, participating in staff meetings, and working out ideas and clarifying goals in one-on-one collaboration with their supervisor.
We offer our interns the opportunity to attend and participate in all the programs we offer during their internship including talks, field trips, and workshops and have this time count towards their 40 work hours per week. Attending these programs will help them get acquainted with the practice of natural history, fall in love with the ecoregion we are working to protect, and get to know the audience we serve with our programming.
Transportation: A car would be helpful but not necessary.
Housing: On-site housing is not available but staff will help with the search.
Location: Prescott, Arizona
Bill Lane Center internships are part of Cardinal Quarter opportunities and students from all disciplines are encouraged to apply. The opportunities are full-time (35-40 hours a week) for 9-10 consecutive weeks during the summer.
Specific start and end dates can be coordinated directly with the supervisor.
All undergraduates of any year, including graduating seniors, are eligible. Graduating seniors are eligible only if they are graduating in spring quarter. Students who have already graduated, e.g., fall or winter quarter of this academic year are not eligible.
Coterms are eligible only if they hold undergraduate status.
For more application advice, please visit the BLC’s FAQs page.
Please note:
- Students are not permitted to engage in another full-time internship, job, or volunteer opportunity (whether funded by Stanford or otherwise) during this full-time, summer internship.
- Student athletes should confirm the impact of any awarded stipend on their athletic eligibility by contacting the Compliance Services Office prior to committing to an internship.
- New Stipend Policy per the U.S. Department of Education: A stipend is considered a resource and it may have an impact on a student’s financial aid. To comply with US Department of Education regulations, student payments, awards, prizes, and gifts that are made available to the student because they are a Stanford student, must be reported to the Financial Aid Office. The Financial Aid Office is responsible for the disbursement of stipend funds to undergraduates. For more information, please visit the Financial Aid Office's webpage about the student stipend policy.
Application Guidelines for this Internship:
Junior, senior or co-term students are preferred.
Required Skills:
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User Experience (UX) Knowledge: Understanding of UX principles and best practices.
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Analytical Skills: Ability to analyze user behavior, feedback, and data.
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Critical Thinking Design Proficiency: Familiarity with design tools.
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Self-starter: Strong capacity for working independently and time management.
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Communication: Effective written and verbal communication for team collaboration.
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Creativity: Offering innovative solutions for digital improvements.
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Attention to Detail: Ensuring a polished user experience.
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Adaptability: Willingness to learn and adapt to changing requirements.
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Teamwork: Collaboration and the ability to work with a small staff.
Desired Skills:
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Web Design Knowledge: Familiarity with HTML/CSS and web development basics.
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Graphic Design Skills: Proficiency in graphic design tools and logo design.
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User Research Experience: Prior experience conducting user interviews or surveys.
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Content Management System (CMS) Familiarity: Experience with platforms like WordPress.
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A/B Testing Knowledge: Understanding of A/B testing methodologies.
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Understanding of SEO: Knowledge of search engine optimization principles.
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Experience with Analytics Tools: Proficiency in tools like Google Analytics.
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Marketing or Branding Background: Understanding of brand identity and marketing principles
Selection of applicants:
Complete applications are screened and finalists are contacted for a first-round interview with staff from The Bill Lane Center for the American West.
The top candidates for the position are then forwarded to the organization for second-round interviews with their potential supervisor and other staff.
Host organizations will then notify the Lane Center of their preferred candidate and that applicant will receive an internship offer from the Bill Lane Center by email.
The applicant is expected to respond promptly (within 48 hours) via email to the offer or the offer will be rescinded.
Once an applicant accepts an offer, they are required to promptly notify all other Stanford and non-Stanford programs to which they have applied that they have accepted another offer and withdraw their candidacy from those other opportunities.