College of Information Sciences and Technology

As a College of IST student, you are required to complete at least one internship for credit, in order to graduate.

To qualify your internship experience for credit:

• It must be a minimum of 300 hours that are completed in one or two consecutive semesters with the same organization
• Responsibilities must be related to your major field of study and provide meaningful impact on the company (no making copies or getting coffee)

You may earn academic credit toward your degree with each IST internship you complete. If you are enrolled in an IST bachelor degree program, you may participate in as many as three internships. This means you can gain the equivalent of a full year of career-related experience by the time you graduate.

Steps to an Internship

Step One: Find an Internship

Students in the College of IST have many internship and job search resources available to them. Previous interns have successfully identified internship opportunities by:

• searching in Nittany Lion Careers, where employers post internship and full-time opportunities specifically targeting Penn State students
• utilizing other job posting sites
• networking with local businesses (these could be at University Park or in your hometown)
• using LinkedIn's job search tool and alumni engagement tool
• connecting with faculty -- both to identify industry connections and participate in research opportunities
• leveraging your family connections and network of friends
• searching PSU's internal job site

Remember: a position doesn't necessarily need to be called an "internship" to qualify for the credit. It simply needs to meet the internship criteria and must be approved by the Office of Career Solutions & Corporate Engagement.

Step Two: Gain Approval for Your Internship

Send an e-mail careers@ist.psu.edu indicating:

• name of the company you will be interning with
• a brief description of the job
• the number of hours you will be working
• the semester(s) in which you will be completing the internship (Note: The 300 hours must be completed within one or two consecutive semesters.)

You will be contacted via email if your internship has been approved for credit (see Step Three) or if additional information is required.

Step Three: Register for Internship Credit (IST 495)

Once the internship is reviewed and approved, the Office of Career Solutions & Corporate Engagement will email you an application link so you can be registered for IST 495. Upon completion of the application, an email will be sent to your supervisor for employer verification of the internship. Be sure to review the additional information about Academic Verifications and Affiliation Agreements which are required by some employers.

After your employer has verified your internship:

• The Office of Career Solutions & Corporate Engagement will register you for IST 495 (you cannot register in LionPATH on your own)
• You will receive an email confirming your registration and with the required links for your online evaluations. You must keep this email for your records.
• All other deliverables will be found in Canvas and will include online discussions, online professional development modules and a final internship reflection
• The deliverables must be completed as assigned in the Canvas course to earn the internship credit. If you are unable to meet this deadline, you must request a grade deferral prior to the end of the semester. NOTE: if you have been approved to complete your internship over two consecutive semesters, your final deliverables will be due prior to the last day of classes for the second semester.

NOTE that IST 495 is a one-credit internship course; therefore, tuition charges and associated fees apply. Rates for tuition, information technology fees, and activity fees can be viewed on the Tuition and Fees Schedule.

Step Four: Complete the Requirements for the Grade

You must complete 300 hours of work within the allotted semester(s) and complete all of the course requirements in Canvas to a minimum average score of 70% or higher to receive the satisfactory (SA) completion of the IST 495 requirement. If the student receives a grade above a 70%, but has not met the hourly requirement, credit cannot be
given for the course.

Refer to the email you received with the requested deliverables and online evaluations. If you have misplaced the email, you will need to email careers@ist.psu.edu.

PLEASE NOTE: These evaluation links must come directly from the Office of Career Solutions and Corporate Engagement. The links are directly connected to your Penn State Access ID and your application for registration for IST 495.