CSCI Y399 Project in Professional Practice

The Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering believes real-world experience is a valuable part of any educational program. Internships provide an avenue for students to build that critical experience, and Luddy students can receive credit for selected, career-related work that involves professional activity representative of informatics.

Y399 Project in Professional Practice internship satisfies an advanced course requirement. A student will receive credit for designing, executing, and documenting a project assignment selected in consultation with his or her employer. Employment must involve a project for which the student has substantial independent involvement as well as close supervision by the employer and the project must be related to the degree.

Students are required to complete 180 hours of supervised work during their project internship to receive the advanced course credit for Y399 (3 credit hours only). Students may repeat Y399 during a different semester for another 3 credit hours (i.e., a maximum of 6 credit hours).

Prerequisites

  • Must be admitted to the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering
  • Completion of core courses with a C- or better (C211 or C200, C212, C241, C343)
  • Hold junior or senior class standing
  • Must be in good academic standing (minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 or better)

PLEASE NOTE: All internships for academic credit are subject to standard course fees for the University. Use the Office of the Bursar's Tuition Estimator to estimate your semester fees.

Additionally, applications received fewer than five days prior to the start of classes the semester during which the internship will take place will be subject to late registration fees.

Finding employment

There are multiple avenues to find an internship that will satisfy the requirements for our Y399 course. They include:

  1. Through University Career Fairs in the fall or spring semester, and/or the Bloomington Technology Partnership Career and Internship Fair in the spring
  2. Through on-line internship postings in the Career Services Handshake system or other online resources
  3. Through your own personal contacts or efforts to secure your own internship
  4. Through the IU Career Development Center on-line postings or fairs (though most will come through the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering instead)
  5. Through other assistance from Career Services

Approval

Y399 internships must be approved by Luddy before any authorization to enroll will be given. The approval decision will be based on the prerequisites listed above and the project proposal.

To apply, potential interns should visit the Internship for Credit application.The application is expected to include a description of the project(s) you will be working on during the internship. It is recommended that you consult with your supervisor before completing this application. Please note that your employer must agree to provide meaningful feedback regarding an intern’s performance during the internship (as part of the end-of-semester evaluation) before your application can be approved.

It is preferred that students submit their application as soon as possible after securing an internship (i.e., the previous semester). Applications must be submitted no later than the end of the second week of the semester during which the internship will begin.

Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering staff will verify that interns are in full compliance with prerequisite requirements. Once the application form is submitted, contact the faculty member and set up a meeting to discuss the proposed project and the expectations and requirements for the internship. The internship application will NOT be approved without the faculty meeting. For remote students, a conference call or Skype meeting may also be arranged. After the application has been approved, interns will be authorized to register for the Y399 course.

Major considerations for the approval of a project internship include (1) whether the intern will have a project assignment providing adequate experience, (2) whether the student has provided adequate technical details about the project, its goals, technologies used, and information about other responsibilities and activities, and (3) will the student be able to write the required project report at the conclusion of the internship.