Internship Courses

Completing an internship experience is a great opportunity to figure out your career goals and build skills for your resume. If you’re interested in gaining course credit for your internships, we offer an “Internships In The Sciences” class for both 1 and 3 credits. This opportunity is available to all CNS students.

Which Course Should You Take?

This is your decision based on your degree plan.  If you aren’t sure, talk to your academic advisor. Please note that both courses are fully virtual and do not require attendance of any lectures and have no exams. The 3-credit course has a few more assignments than the 1-credit course but it’s up to you to decide what fits your needs. The available courses will change according to when you’re completing your internship as well:

Internship Criteria

To establish uniformity in the use and application of the term “internship,” CNS Career Services uses the following definition from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE):

To be considered a qualifying internship by the above definition, all the following criteria must be met:

• The experience must be an extension of the classroom: a learning experience that provides for applying the knowledge gained in the classroom. It must not simply advance the operations of the employer or be the work that a regular employee would routinely perform.
• The skills or knowledge learned must be transferable to other employment settings.
• The experience has a defined beginning and end as well as a job description with desired qualifications.
• There are clearly defined learning objectives/goals related to the professional goals of the student’s academic coursework.
• There is supervision by a professional with expertise and educational and/or professional background in the field of the experience.
• There is routine feedback by the experienced supervisor.
• There are resources, equipment and facilities provided by the host employer that support learning objectives/goals.

Requirements

Before gaining access to register for our internship courses, you must first have an internship offer where the dates of the internship are concurrent with the semester in which you’re enrolling in the course.

Internship Offer Letter

Your offer letter from the company MUST include:

• Name and contact information of your internship supervisor
• Specific beginning and end dates of the internship
• Number of hours working per week (to enroll you must meet a total of 160 hours for summer/120 for Fall or Spring semesters)
• Pay rate (must identify if unpaid)
• Description of what you will be doing during the internship

Process

In order to request course enrollment, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your Handshake account.
2. Click Career Center at the top navigation bar and then select Experiences from the central menu on the Career Center page.
3. Click “Submit an Experience”
4. Complete the form and upload a PDF of your official offer letter from your internship (see offer letter requirements above). Then, wait for an approval from the CNS career services staff. Once you’ve been approved, you will receive an email with instructions on how to register in the course. If you have questions, please email: career.services@austin.utexas.edu 
5. If you are an international student, once your request has been approved, you will need to complete the Curricular Practical Training form. Contact the International Office for more information about this process.

Status of Your Course Request

Please allow 3-4 business days for processing your request. Feel free to check the status of your application on Handshake. You can see if your request is pending, approved or if additional information is needed on the “comments” section. CNS Career Services may also send you messages in Handshake if they have additional questions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions? Email us:

career.services@austin.utexas.edu