Become an Internship Sponsor

Equine Science Program
Intern Sponsorship

Why Become an Intern Sponsor?

SIU Equine Science students' final experience prior to being awarded their degree is to serve an internship in some aspect of the horse industry:

An internship provides the intern with invaluable practical learning experiences that enhance their on-campus education.
Intern positions provide a vehicle for graduate placement, either in a permanent position at the internship site, or through the many valuable horse industry contacts interns make during their internship.
Knowledge flows in both directions: to the intern from the internship sponsor, and to the sponsor from the prior experience of the intern as a student of Equine Science at SIU.

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Education in Action

What is the splenic reaction in exercising horses? How can you calculate a stallions book? What type of barn offers the nost space at least cost? Why can't a horse breath from its mouth? What is so important about the "ring of muscles"? How can you accurately determine a horse's fitness level? What shoes help weak tendons? How do you determine minimum cost and maximum efficiency in your feeding program?

Can you answer these questions? Graduates of the Equine Science Program at Southern Illinois University can. What's more, they can use their knowledge in these areas and more to deal with the demands of the horse industry now and into the future.

The Equine Science Program at Southern Illinois University is committed to providing the very best education for the coming generations of horse industry professionals. The Equine Science curriculum at SIU is one of the most diverse and progressive in the nation, and provides a wealth of practical learning opportunites for its students. Combining the factual with the physical is what the SIU Equine Science Program does best. The curriculum emphasizes professionalism, a broad knowledge of both the animal and the industry, managerial experience and practical problem solving. SIU Equine Science Program graduates provide this nation's horse industry with a valuable commodity - The Practical Horseman.

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A Leg Up Into The Horse Industry

SIU Equine Science Program horse industry internships differ from those offered through other collegiate horse programs by being restricted only to upper division (graduating) Equine Science students. A student can serve their internship only after completion of their on-campus Equine Science classes. Therefore, sponsors of the horse industry internship receive only interns with a significant amount of prior experience and training. Moreover, the high expectations of the SIU Equine Science Program insures that our student interns are serious students with a professional attitude.

For her/his internship, the individuals Equine Science student is matched with a professional in an area of the horse industry representing the intern's primary area of interest. Participation in the horse industry internship is for a full 16-week semester (Fall, Spring, or Summer). Interns work full time and are supervised by the on-site internship sponsor. The activities experience and are defined in advance through mutual agreement between the internship sponsor, the intern and the SIU faculty internship supervisor. Housing, compensation and other arrangements are negotiated between the internship sponsor and the intern.

Internship sponsors play a vital role in the education of SIU Equine Science students and by serving as sponsors they contribute to the future of the horse industry in which they work. Response to the SIU Equine Science internship program has been overwhelmingly positive. Many past internship sponsors request more SIU interns and retain their interns as employees after their graduation. Perhaps the strongest endorsement of the internship program comes from our own Equine Science alumni who, once established in the horse industry themselves, come back to SIU to request interns of their own.

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