Hands-on experience is critical for preparing future ranch workers and managers.
In partnership with the CSU Extension Internship Program and a number of ranches, we offer summer internship opportunities to students in the master’s program and other related degrees. While not required, we highly encourage students to pursue an internship or ranching job while enrolled in the program. These paid opportunities allow students to build essential ranching skills, gain real-world experience, and interact daily with ranch workers, managers, and owners. Internships also help students develop professional networks and determine if a career in ranching aligns with their goals.
How the Internship Program Works
- Eligibility: Open to students in the Master’s in Western Ranch Management and Ecosystem Stewardship and other CSU students with an interest in ranching.
- Timing: Most internships take place during the summer and last 8–12 weeks.
- Structure: Interns work directly with ranch staff, managers, CSU Extension agents, and researchers to gain hands-on experience in land stewardship, grazing management, ecosystem research, livestock handling, and the daily operations of working ranches.
- Compensation: All internships are paid, and housing assistance is sometimes provided.
Past Internship Highlights
Archuleta County – Invasive Species Control & Goat Grazing
This internship placed a student with a family-run goat grazing business focused on invasive species control and fuel reduction. The intern gained hands-on experience in business planning (budgeting, marketing, and networking), livestock care (goat herding and health), and land stewardship (plant identification and ecological monitoring). As part of the applied research component, the student tested seed viability after ruminant digestion—an innovative approach to understanding the ecological role of targeted grazing.
Banded Peak Ranch – Forest Management & Aspen Regeneration
In partnership with CSU Extension, this internship offered the opportunity to work with Banded Peak Ranch to conduct a study on aspen regeneration following a prescribed timber sale and herbivory by a robust elk population. The internship also provided practical experience in ranch operations and forest stewardship, receiving training on equipment operation and maintenance, handling and care of horses, infrastructure upkeep, and recovery of the endangered Rio Grande cutthroat trout.
Fitch Ranch – Grazing Management & Virtual Fencing
In partnership with Fitch Ranch and CSU Extension, interns supported daily ranch operations while researching the economics and implementation of virtual fencing. Following the East Troublesome Fire, which damaged significant stretches of traditional fencing, interns played a key role in deploying a virtual fencing system to support post-burn rangeland restoration. The experience also included collaboration with CSU faculty and Extension agents to explore sustainable grazing strategies.
Trinchera Ranch – High-Intensity Grazing & Cheatgrass Management
At the Trinchera Ranch, interns worked alongside CSU Extension agents to manage an intensive rotational grazing program. Their research focused on testing soil amendments as a tool for controlling invasive cheatgrass. This internship blended hands-on ranch work with field-based research, giving students the opportunity to contribute directly to adaptive land management practices.
