ECE Internship Information

 

Internship Information

 

The ECE department has both a Co-op course (14:332:496/497) and an Internship course (14:332:495). They are related but different.  Roughly, the 496 co-op course is intended for full-time employment,  typically for 6 months, while the 495 internship course is generally for summer internships, or employment of less than 3 months. If you are considering enrolling in either course, you should start by reading the guidelines on page 12-13 of the ECE undergraduate handbook at

https://www.ece.rutgers.edu/undergraduate-and-graduate-student-handbooks

For either Co-op or internship, you need to first find an interesting technical work experience. The Career Services Center at Rutgers provides listings of participating organizations/companies for possible interest. Contact the Co-Op Student Services Administrator, Career Services-Employment Center, Busch Campus Center.

 

14:332:496, 497 Co-Op Internship in ECE
The 14:332:496, 497 co-op must be of at least six months of continuous duration, full time for six credits or at least three months for three credits. Normally, it is to be taken in the summer/fall semesters or spring/summer semesters. The co-op should continue with the same employer during both semesters. To earn co-op credit, the student must be working on a specified project. A project description that identifies a faculty advisor as well as an industrial advisor who will supervise the student must be approved by the Undergraduate Director PRIOR to starting the co-op.  At the end of the project, the Undergraduate Director and industrial advisor together will decide whether the student is to receive a passing grade. To initiate the process for enrollment in this course, the student should apply for an SPN to take 14:332:496/497 at

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfoi8RSOlaRdB6l_lVAxgw_jMix07G9ARATvVm_w9C7PlPvYg/viewform

Note that a three-month co-op during either fall or spring semester will count towards three credit technical elective but that co-op credit will not be given for summer employment alone.

 

14:332:495 ECE Internship
The 3-credit internship class 14:332:495 is available for students who are working part-time and have an employment in a field closely related to electrical and computer engineering.  Specifically, for the 3-credit internship course, students must be employed for a duration of at least 10 weeks, for a total of 180 hours of work.  Because the internship course supports part-time internships while going to class with a full credit load, the ECE 495 internship has proven more popular of late. The rest of this page is focused on the 14:332:495 Internship course.

It is common to start an internship, say in the summer, and make sure the work has a suitable technical challenge before applying for the internship course.  The next step, during the registration period, is to apply for an SPN to enroll in 495 at

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfoi8RSOlaRdB6l_lVAxgw_jMix07G9ARATvVm_w9C7PlPvYg/viewform

 

Your submitted SPN request must specify

  • your tentative start and end dates,
  • your employer name and address/location,
  • your job title.

 

When you receive an SPN and enroll in the course, you will join a Canvas course in which the Canvas assignments are the required deliverables. These deliverables include

  1. An application to be submitted in the first week of the semester. This application will request contact information for your employment supervisor and a 1-page description of the technical projects that you expect (or expected) to be part of your internship. You must have an industrial advisor who will supervise your work.
  2. An updates and changes questionnaire that provides details of your internship and how your internship differed from what you described in your application.
  3. A detailed final Internship report that describes your employment position, workplace venue, and terms of your employment. This 8-10 page report will also describe your regular assignments, technical projects, and how your work connects to the ECE curriculum.
  4. An Internship poster focused on the technical projects of your internship. Depending on health and safety protocols, there may be a requirement to make a presentation at a poster session.
  5. An employer survey: your supervisor will be asked to fill out a survey providing a supervisor’s perspective on your internship experience.

 

Some things to keep in mind about the internship include:

  • The internship course will be graded on a Pass/NoCredit basis
  • If your application (first canvas assignment) is not sufficient, you will be dropped from the course.
  • You may choose for your internship to be concurrent with the internship course. However, you must have finished the 180+ required hours and submitted the Canvas assignments/deliverables in time to submit grades at the end of the semester.