Internships and Co-ops

The importance of internships and co-op education cannot be overemphasized. Data clearly shows that co-op experiences help students achieve greater employment opportunities and faster career progress compared to those who have not had any such exposure prior to graduation. Actual working experience in an industrial or a professional setting prior to graduation helps accomplish the following:

• provide the "real" world practical experience
• enhance one's educational experience by gaining more appreciation of the applied knowledge
• enhance oral, writing, and interpersonal skills
• gain appreciation of the industrial workplace
• assess the relevance of a career in chosen discipline to the student's long-term goals

Other tangible benefits include financial gain, enhanced full-time job opportunities, and a sense of contribution by engaging in a productive activity.

Internship and co-op participation is the student's choice, though it is very strongly recommended. The student can elect to do an internship for about three months (generally in the summer) or a co-op consisting of the summer and one semester (approximately 8 months). We strongly recommend that students do a summer internship, at a minimum, prior to graduation. For more information about internships, visit Miami's Career Services page dedicated to Computer Science and Software Engineering.

Twice per academic year, Miami has a Career Day, where many companies visit Miami for recruiting purposes. At these events, students are strongly encouraged to attend, resumes in hand, to meet company representatives and to apply to internship and co-op positions that interest them. It is essential that students register with Miami's Career Placement Office to be eligible for interviews with companies during Career Day events.

It is also essential that you register for CSE 320 (Professional Practice) when away on co-op/intern assignment. There is no charge for registering for CSE 320, since you register it for zero credit hours. However, CSE 320 records your co-op/internship experience on your transcript as well as retains your "enrolled status" for spring and fall. This also enables the Registrar's Office to forward upcoming registration information to you while you are on assignment.

Our students have internships with companies across a broad spectrum of industries providing the needed hands-on experience to match their college education track. This includes experiences in the automotive, aerospace, finance, computing, manufacturing, banking, insurance, defense, energy, and paper industries.