Internship Requirements for Computer Engineering Students

Computer engineering internships serve as a crucial bridge between academic knowledge and practical application, preparing students for influential careers across diverse industries. These internships provide hands-on experience, allowing students to develop essential skills that set them apart in the competitive job market.

The Value of Computer Engineering Internships

The skills that make computer engineering professionals valuable are complex and require hands-on experience. Computer engineering internships are designed to prepare top professionals for competitive and influential careers across a wide variety of industries.

Global Opportunities

These opportunities aren't limited geographically. From Asia to Latin America, computer engineering students can find internships that offer an international perspective, learning from top global professionals. Each placement is unique and is based on the intern’s interests, goals, technical skills, and academic and professional background.

Key Requirements for Computer Engineering Internships

Securing a coveted computer engineering internship requires careful planning and preparation. While specific requirements may vary depending on the company and role, some common elements are consistently sought by employers.

Academic Excellence

A competitive undergraduate GPA, typically 3.0 or greater, is a standard requirement. This demonstrates a strong foundation in academic principles relevant to the field.

Read also: Your Guide to Nursing Internships

Relevant Experience

An up-to-date resume showcasing relevant experience is crucial. This may include previous internships, research projects, or personal projects that demonstrate technical skills and problem-solving abilities. The CpE program offers students an opportunity to integrate classroom instruction with practical work experience. The Co-op/Internship program gives students the opportunity to verify academic and vocational interests, gain valuable experience in the chosen field prior to graduation, and earn income that can be used to defray college expenses.

Personal Statement or Essay

Many internships require an essay or personal statement that allows students to articulate their interests, goals, and how the internship aligns with their career aspirations.

Letters of Recommendation

Letters of recommendation from professors or mentors can provide valuable insights into a student's character, work ethic, and technical abilities.

Internship Opportunities in Various Industries

Computer engineering internships can be found in a wide array of industries, each offering unique experiences and challenges.

Technology Companies

Apple: As the largest information technology company, Apple offers internships for candidates who understand chip design, computer system architecture, and wireless communication. Prior internship or relevant work experience is often a plus.
Google's Moonshot Factory (X): X engineers incubate solutions to major global challenges, offering software engineering internships that are flexible to an applicant’s availability and project needs.
Tesla: As a leader in electric vehicles and clean energy, Tesla's materials engineering team offers internships across a wide range of components.
Marvell: Marvell’s semiconductor solutions are the essential building blocks of the data infrastructure that connects our world. Across enterprise, cloud and AI, and carrier architectures, our innovative technology is enabling new possibilities.
Nokia: You will be part of the Cloud Mobility Manager (CMM) within Nokia's CNS Division.
Crestron Electronics: Crestron Electronics is dedicated to attracting exceptional emerging professionals by investing in resources and creating new opportunities for hands-on learning, professional growth, and career development in a supportive work environment.
Amazon: As an intern, you will have the opportunity to gain a comprehensive understanding of Amazon Workplace Health and Safety (WHS) practices.

Engineering and Manufacturing Firms

DuPont: DuPont’s engineering internship and co-op experiences are designed for business-minded problem solvers who show the capabilities and determination to become leaders. Over the course of history, DuPont engineers have helped invent substances like nylon, Kevlar, and Lycra.
American Bridge Company: This legendary civil engineering firm offers internships where students can perform engineering support assignments for bridge and marine construction projects. Specific assignments may include preparing engineering reports, performing inspections, preparing construction cost estimates, and building construction scheduling.
GE Aerospace: As a global leader in jet engines, GE Aerospace offers internships in its Mechanical Components and Systems Lab, where interns can advance mechanical solutions for next-generation propulsion.
Westinghouse Electric Company: Westinghouse is seeking nuclear engineering students for its nuclear operations summer internship for technical engineering positions in nuclear engineering.
Analog Devices (ADI): ADI develops breakthrough technologies for digitized factories, mobility, and digital healthcare. Interns work collaboratively with engineering, production, and maintenance teams on continuous improvement projects.
Boeing: One of the largest aerospace manufacturers globally, Boeing’s systems engineering internship allows students to focus their skills on real-world problems in areas like customer engineering, regulatory administration, and system safety.
Signode: Signode fabricates and sells consumables and automation equipment used to pack, bundle, unitize, warehouse, and transport goods. The Engineering team for automation and packaging technologies (APT) develops new products, tests them, and launches them to market.
Jabil: At Jabil they strive to make ANYTHING POSSIBLE and EVERYTHING BETTER. They are proud to be a trusted partner for the world's top brands, offering comprehensive engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain solutions.
Rockwell Automation: Rockwell Automation is a global technology leader focused on helping the world’s manufacturers be more productive, sustainable, and agile.

Healthcare and Biomedical Companies

Siemens Healthineers: A global leader in medical technology, Siemens Healthineers offers a project-based experience for engineering students, including those studying industrial engineering, in their Engineering Summer Internship program.
National Institutes of Health (NIH): The NIH's Biomedical Engineering Summer Internship Program (BESIP) allows students to participate in cutting-edge biomedical research projects under the mentorship of scientists and engineers in NIH laboratories.

Government Agencies

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): The EPA Office of Water offers unpaid internships in environmental engineering, focusing on water and public health-related fields, including sustainability and resilience.

Specific Internship Programs

Several organizations offer structured internship programs designed for computer engineering students.

Read also: Comprehensive Internship Guide

NIH Biomedical Engineering Summer Internship Program (BESIP)

Housed within the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the NBIB has a mission to improve health by leading the development and accelerating the application of biomedical technologies. Their Biomedical Engineering Summer Internship Program (BESIP) is hosted by the BETA Center, an NIH-wide organization housed in the NIBIB intramural research program. Students interested in biomedical engineering research will come to the NIH campus for an intensive in-person research experience.

The BESIP program contains two tracks: BESIP-BME and BESIP-STEM. For the BESIP-BME track, applicants must be working towards a bachelor’s degree in physical science, computer science, or engineering. The BESIP-STEM track includes applicants who are not majoring in engineering, physical science, or computer science but are interested in pursuing biomedical engineering in graduate school or as a career. This could include applicants from other science majors such as biology, biochemistry, mathematics, chemistry, and other related biomedical disciplines. Alternatively, BESIP-STEM applicants may be majoring in engineering, physical science, and computer science, but have not had a previous in-person biomedical engineering research experience.

Siemens Healthineers Engineering Summer Internship

In their Engineering Summer Internship program, Siemens Healthineers offers a dynamic, project-based experience for undergraduate and master’s engineering students, including those studying industrial engineering. Qualified candidates (preferably rising juniors or seniors) participate in engineering and design activities utilizing tools like Solidworks, AutoCAD, Matlab, and Siemens NX. Interns benefit from paid time off and an hourly wage of $24 to $40, depending on education, experience, and location.

Gaining Credit for Internships

Participate in the College of Engineering and Computer Science Internships for Credit program to build your skills and earn academic credit at the same time. Complete the prerequisites for your major. Participating in a major-related internship during the semester enrolled in the internship course. Students who currently do not meet the requirements for the CECS Internship Course may report their internship experience or enroll in Experiential Learning’s Internship Course. Internship Course is graded on a Satisfactory (“S”)/ Unsatisfactory (“U”) basis.

CEN 4940: Practical Work in Computer Engineering

CEN 4940: Practical Work in Computer Engineering is a 1-3 credit course that may be applied toward the technical electives requirement for CpE undergraduate degree programs. Students may register for CEN 4940 a maximum of three times for a total of three credits. It may only be taken S/U (Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory). To register for CEN 4940, a formal letter from the sponsoring company describing the nature of the work must be on file with the Computer Engineering Advising office before the end of the registration drop/add period. The letter must indicate that the student will be working approximately 160-480 hours across four weeks or more and that the with is computer science/engineering related, provide a description of the student’s responsibilities, and provide detailed contact information of the person or persons who will be supervising the student during the work. To successfully complete Practical Work with a grade of Satisfactory, a 2-4 page Post-Internship Report written by the student, and a formal Evaluation Letter written by the student’s supervisor(s) is due to the Computer Engineering Advising office one week prior to the end of finals week.

Read also: Internship Opportunities

Timeline and Application Strategies

It’s never too early to start planning your engineering internship. For summer internships, applications can close as early as January of the year in question. Other internships, especially at larger companies, operate on rolling deadlines. But simply applying is often not enough.

Additional Internship Opportunities

ABB: At ABB, they help industries outrun - leaner and cleaner. Here, progress is an expectation - for you, your team, and the world. As a global market leader, they’ll give you what you need to make it happen. It won’t always be easy, growing takes grit.
AGCO: Not everyone can claim to feed the world, but it is part of our every day. Behind everything they do for their farmers, there is one AGCO team making it happen. They are proud to put their curiosity to work, building a better and more sustainable world.
HNTB: At HNTB, you can create a career that is meaningful to you while building communities that matter to all of us. For more than a century, they have been delivering solutions for some of the largest, most complex infrastructure projects across the country.
RTM Engineering Consultants: RTM Engineering Consultants is an MEP, Civil and Structural engineering firm that goes beyond the conventional consulting role. They forge deep partnerships with their clients by aligning with the goals, processes and people at each organization.
Parker Hannifin: Parker Hannifin is a Fortune 250 global leader in motion and control technologies. For more than a century the company has been enabling engineering breakthroughs that lead to a better tomorrow.
Trane Technologies: At Trane TechnologiesTM and through our businesses including Trane® and Thermo King®, they create innovative climate solutions for buildings, homes, and transportation that challenge what’s possible for a sustainable world.
Morrison-Maierle: Morrison-Maierle is a 100% employee-owned firm specializing in integrated consulting and design services in engineering, planning, surveying, and science.
Cianbro: Cianbro’s internships are paid and are available to full-time undergraduate students who have completed at least their freshman year of college.
Dominion Energy: Dominion Energy is committed to providing reliable, affordable, and increasingly clean energy that powers our customers every day.
Whiting-Turner Contracting Company: Open to undergraduate students interested in gaining hands-on practical experience in the construction field.

Alternative Career for Engineers

Holland & Hart is looking to bring in exceptional engineers for their rapidly growing patent practices. Explore an exciting alternative career by using your engineering training to develop patent strategies for technology companies at the forefront of innovation.

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