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 Work Plan.
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
  • Valid U.S. Immigration Status 
*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 Work Plan (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.

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@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: The Career Development Coordinator will be reaching 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):
  • CS Internship Portfolio Guidelines - Respond to questions aimed at evaluating your knowledge and skills gained through paragraph-style responses.
  • CS Internship Presentation Guidelines - Prepare a brief PowerPoint presentation that outlines your experiences and learning gained to share at later internship information sessions.
  • Updated Resume - Update resume to include internship experience that may be used in future internship or industry applications. 

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
total hours worked 1 unit 2 units 3 units
Minimum 45 - 89 hours Eligible N/A N/A
89 - 134 hours Eligible Eligible N/A
> 135 hours Eligible Eligible Eligible

*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

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