Want to gain a competitive edge in your future career? Internships can help you develop valuable job skills, gain practical work experience, and explore potential career paths—all while learning in a real-world environment.

The UO Career Center helps connect students with local and global internship opportunities. If you'd like to explore a potential career path while living and working abroad, the IE3 Global program offers internships at over 100 different organizations in 50 countries.

Outreach Programs

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry is regularly engaged in outreach to the broader community, especially supporting local STEM education for K-12 students. Chemistry and biochemistry students can gain valuable experience and skills by participating in one of our outreach programs.

ChemDemos

ChemDemos is a great way to get young people fired up about chemistry! ChemDemos outreach program was created to promote the discipline of chemistry, the University of Oregon, and the UO Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry by presenting safe, entertaining, and educational chemical demonstration presentations to schools and other appropriate organizations in the Eugene/Springfield area. A typical demonstration program lasts from 30 minutes to one-hour. 

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MadDuck Science Friday

The Mad Duck Science outreach program was started in 2011 by chemistry faculty at the University of Oregon who wanted to fill a growing gap in science education in local schools. In an era of reduced funding for science education at all levels, hands-on science education has been hit especially hard. Our goal was to assemble faculty and graduate students across department lines with local educators to provide a cohesive lab-based science education program for local students on days when school has been shortened or cancelled due to budget cuts.

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SAIL Chemistry Camp

Summer Academy to Inspire Learning (SAIL) Chemistry Camp offers 8th through 12th grade students from local high schools the opportunity to explore the ways in which chemistry affects our lives, from food chemistry to manufacturing sustainable products. Campers engage in hands-on activities in a college chemistry laboratory and presentations centered around daily chemistry themes such as polymers, CSI, food chemistry, and materials science. SAIL is aimed at increasing students’ enrollment and success in college.

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Doctoral Internship Program

We have a robust professional development program that includes opportunities for our doctoral students to intern in small and large companies, national labs and educational institutions. The goal of the Doctoral Internship Program is to provide students with the experience they need to evaluate and excel in various career paths.

Below is a list of recent internship placements and we are open to identifying new partners. The department works individually with students to explore internship opportunities that enhance their research or professional development.

Previous Internship Placements

• Abcam is a global “life science tools provider” based in the Cambridge Science Park in Cambridge, UK, with offices in Cambridge (Massachusetts, US), San Francisco, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tokyo. Products include primary and secondary antibodies, biochemicals, proteins, peptides, lysates, immunoassays and other kits.

• Amorphyx’ pioneering display technology radically simplifies the most complicated and costly portion of the production process; ultimately shrinking environmental footprint and slashing production costs so manufacturers can finally achieve profits.

• Bend Research, based in Oregon, USA. Specialize in research and development of pharmaceutical drug delivery and health science technologies.

• Corning Incorporated is an American manufacturer of glass, ceramics, and related materials, primarily for industrial and scientific applications.

• Inpria Corporation is a pioneer in extending semiconductor lithography with inorganic photoresists for nanoscale patterning.

• Intel is an American multinational technology company, one of the world’s largest and highest valued semiconductor chip makers.

• Iris Vineyards produces world-class, award winning wines.

• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory focuses on research and development related to waste management, environmental restoration, global environmental change, energy, and national security.

• Thermo Fisher – Invitrogen™ instruments and reagents are some of the most-cited products for genetic engineering, amplification, purification, quantification and analysis. 

• The University of Puget Sound is a private liberal arts college in Tacoma, Washington.

Other Internship Programs

• Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI) sponsors placement of a student or recent graduate in one of ONAMI’s gap funded companies.