Internships

Undergraduate students can earn academic credit for CS-related internships currently in progress (either paid or unpaid) and will need to complete a CS Internship WorkPlan.

Minimum Eligibility Qualifications Undergraduates:

• Must be in good academic standing (2.0 major and cumulative GPA) before the internship
• Must complete at least one full semester (12 credits) at the University and at least one CS course before the internship
• Must be currently enrolled at The University of Arizona in the Department of Computer Science
• Be declared a Computer Science major/minor or AMP, MS, PhD 

Minimum Eligibility Qualifications Graduates:

• Must be in good academic standing (3.0 cumulative GPA) before the internship
• Must be currently enrolled at The University of Arizona in the Department of Computer Science
• Be declared a Computer Science major/minor or AMP, MS, PhD 

*Additional requirements will be required for International students. For further guidance regarding CPT/OPT, please visit the ISS webpage.*

Steps to Apply for Internships Credit:

Step 1: Students must obtain an official offer letter from the institution/company hosting the internship 

Step 2: Complete the Internship WorkPlan (link below) with your supervisor/manager. If you are continuing your internship with the same institution/company your learning objectives need to be different from the previous semester. Please make it clear how the experience you are going to continue differs from the previous semester.

If you are participating in the IBM Co-op program please use the PDF below: 

Step 3: Obtain internship posting/description via .pdf or .doc

Step 4 (for international students ONLY): Submit your CPT or OPT request via MyGlobal. 

For CPT MyGlobal form add Valeria Martinez (vmartinez@cs.arizona.edu) as designated advisor. For OPT MyGlobal form add your designated academic advisor. 

Step 5: Send all documents listed in steps 1, 2, and 3 to the Career Development Coordinator at vmartinez@cs.arizona.edu

Step 6: CS Faculty reviews the CS Internship Workplan for internship credit approval. 

Step 7: If CS faculty approves the CS Internship Work Plan, the Career Development Coordinator will reach out within 1-2 business days (M-F 8am-5pm) with an enrollment confirmation email. International students, please plan accordingly with your CPT/OPT timeline and your start date. 

Reporting Requirements (due by the last day of class): Submit to CSC 493/593 Instructor contact located in the CSC 493/593 syllabus you received in your University of Arizona email.  End of Internship Portfolio and Recorded Presentation Guidelines

For additional information please refer to the CS Internship Manual

Overview of Computer Science Credit

• Credit will appear on your schedule as CSC 493 or CSC 593 
• CSC 493/593 is graded on a pass / fail scale and can be taken for 1, 2, or 3 units
• Internship credits cannot be awarded retroactively for internship experiences performed during an earlier time
• CSC 493 does not fulfill any CS major elective requirements (i.e. major elective courses for the BA / BS degrees) - please speak with your Academic Advisor for more information on this policy

Academic Contact Hours Chart

*i.e. students wanting to earn 3 units of internship credit over a 15-week semester will need to contribute at least 9 hours per week*

• Login to Handshake and create/update your student profile
• Attend the CS Career Fair and/or STEM Career Fair
• Read the Computer Science Weekly Newsletter for internship opportunities
• Utilize free resources such as LinkedIn, Job Board X, Glassdoor, Indeed, USAJobs, and BarefootStudent

• For International students check out the the international job resource document down below

  Document

  InternationaJobResources.pdf
• Make an appointment with the Coordinator of Career Development to find opportunities specific to your interests