Passionate people, thriving wildlife.
Are you ready to get hands-on with conservation? Internship and Residency programs at White Oak are built to be a rigorous and rewarding experience, empowering early-career zookeepers, veterinarians, and veterinary technicians to make a difference for wildlife.
From our expansive facility with on-site housing and large-scale herd formats that keep wildlife wild to our native pine savanna ecosystems, internships at White Oak are like nothing else you’ve experienced. All internship and residency programs are paid, and most offer on-site housing to help reduce barriers often experienced when pursuing a career in wildlife conservation. Questions? Please email training@white-oak.org and we will be happy to help.
Ready to step into a wild career? Check out our programs below.
Wildlife Husbandry Internship
Commitment Length: 6 months
- Winter Term: January – June
- Summer Term: July – December
From carnivores to antelope species, learn husbandry skills while providing direct care to a range of wildlife in human care. This internship offers direct experience working alongside staff in all aspects of daily care, supporting our conservation work. Housing provided.
Grasshopper Sparrow Internship
Commitment Length: 6 months
- Winter Term: September – February
- Summer Term: March – August
Dive deep into avian conservation with this specialty internship focused on the Florida grasshopper sparrow program. Participants gain strong ex-situ conservation skills with the opportunity to blend field technician skills into the management and husbandry of captive breeding populations designated for release. Housing provided.
Locals Only – Wildlife Conservation Internship
Commitment Length: 1-3 months
Applicants must have a permanent address within 50 miles of White Oak to apply.
Wondering if careers in wildlife conservation are for you? This introductory internship helps provide opportunities to local candidates to explore careers while gaining direct experience working alongside staff supporting our wildlife conservation work.
Santa Fe Graduate Internship
Commitment Length: 8 months
White Oak is proud to have a strong partnership with the Santa Fe Teaching Zoo in Gainesville, FL. This exclusive internship for Santa Fe graduates is designed to provide diversified hands-on husbandry experience. Interns can expect to rotate across multiple teams at White Oak, learning the ins and outs of a world-class conservation breeding center to better prepare candidates for an animal-care career in the zoological field.
Veterinary Technician Internship
Commitment Length: 6 months, rolling acceptance
Gain hands-on experience in wildlife veterinary care, working with some of the best wildlife experts in their field. Interns will be guided by zoo-boarded vets and highly skilled senior technicians learning both field and clinical pathology skills. Applicants must have completed an accredited AVMA program. Preference is given to candidates who have passed the VTNE. Housing provided.
Veterinary Residency Program
White Oak partners with the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine to support the Zoological Medicine Residency program. This three-year program is designed for graduate veterinarians with post-graduate clinical experience, pursuing a zoological or wildlife medicine career. White Oak provides the program’s third-year Residents practical hands-on veterinary experience with endangered species assurance populations under the guidance of ACZM board-certified veterinarians. The Residency prepares veterinarians for entry into the field of wildlife medicine.
For more information, visit the program site.
