Students must be in their junior or senior year in college, or in graduate school, pursuing a degree in a physical science, forensic science, criminalistics, digital forensics or equivalent. This unpaid internship work experience is directly related to a specific academic program of an educational institution. The work experience must fulfill an academic requirement or result in academic credit from an accredited educational institution.

The internship program will require each student to complete an assigned project with a laboratory staff member consisting of an extensive literature review, laboratory experimentation and research, compilation of data and an oral presentation. 

Internship opportunities are available at both the BCA FSS St. Paul and Bemidji locations.

Interns should plan on being scheduled Monday through Friday during normal works hours from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Some flexibility is possible to accommodate class or outside work schedules. 

Candidates who best fit the needs of the laboratory will be interviewed no later than 6-7 weeks after the application deadline. No financial assistance is available.

Examples of laboratory projects include:

• Establish quantitation procedures for controlled substances
• Determine variability in accelerants fou​nd in fire debris
• Develop new analytical technique
• Evaluate DNA analytical procedures

Eligible applicants must submit the following items to the forensic lab internship coordinator at bca.lab.interns@state.mn.us

• State of Minnesota Internship Application
• MN BCA Forensic Science Services Internship Interest Form;
• College transcript(s); and
• Verification from college advisor that internship is being taken for credit.

Application deadlines

Spring Internship	January-May	Deadline: Last Friday in October
Summer Internship	June-August	Deadline: Last Friday in March
Fall Internship	September-December	Deadline: Last Friday in May