Computer Information Sciences Internships

Internship Options

There are two ways of doing internships: one is without Washburn credit, and the other is with Washburn credit.

• If it is without Washburn credit, students negotiate directly with the organizations that offer them the opportunity.
• If students choose to do internship with Washburn credit, they need to enroll in CM401, CM402, or CM403, and follow the procedures.

Prepare For Internships

Review online resources and meet with career advisors at Washburn Career Engagement to prepare your resume or cover letter and practice interviewing. Washburn Career Engagement also offers free internship search assistance through in-person or virtual meetings with career advisors. For more information visit the Career Engagement website.

Where to look?

In the past, many organizations have offered Washburn CIS students internship opportunities. Here are just a few examples:

Advisors Excel•BlueCross BlueShield Kansas•BNSF Railway•Capitol Federal Savings•Cerner (now Oracle)•Diversified Crop Insurance Services•Federal Home Loan Bank•Kalos Inc.•KBI-Lab•Kansas Department of Commerce•Kansas Department of Transportation•Kansas Department of Revenue•KPERS•Mize Hauser•Shamrock Trading Corporation•Security Benefit•UPS•SE2•Tallgrass Technologies Solutions•VA Hospital•Washburn ITS•Wazee Digital

For current postings, please visit the career social media websites below:

• Handshake

• LinkedIn

• Indeed

Procedure for an internship with CIS credits

CM 401, CM 402, CM 403: Systems Analysis Cooperative I-III (1-6 credit hours/course)

1. Business firm contacts Computer Information Sciences internship coordinator.
2. Internship coordinator, in conjunction with internship committee, determines whether proposed cooperative meets departmental guidelines.
   • Provides activities appropriate for CIS internship.
   • Cooperative opportunity will be an on-going relationship.
   • Cooperative will be competitive in nature with no predetermined candidate in mind.
   • Cooperative will be a paid position above minimum wage.
   • Cooperative must be set up in advance and is not available to students already working for the firm in a similar position. It will not be possible to receive credit retroactively for work performed.
   • Business firm has identified appropriate liaison employee to supervise coop and consult with internship coordinator in assessing the coop's performance so that coordinator can assign appropriate course grade (A-F).
3. Approved cooperative opportunities will be posted so that qualified students may apply.

Eligibility Requirements:

1. Minimum of 3.2 GPA in CM course work.
2. Completion of at least 21 hours of major CM courseware including two semesters of programming language and CM337 (or concurrent). Normally candidate should have completed at least 54 total credit hours (junior standing).
3. Declared CIS major.
4. Enrolled at Washburn University during the period of the internship.
5. Consent of department.
6. Students can participate in only one internship (1 semester) or one cooperative experience (up to 3 consecutive semesters). NOTE: Once a student has completed CM403 (3rd semester), he/she may continue in the cooperative experience until graduation.
7. Additional requirements may be specified by the firm requesting the cooperative.

Selection Process:

1. Student completes cooperative application and submits it to the department early during the semester prior to the anticipated starting date or soon after an cooperative opportunity is posted.
2. Internship committee screens potential candidates for upcoming available cooperative. Consideration given to the applicants' "fit" regarding the computing environment, amount of student supervision required and available, etc. Appropriate candidate applications are then forwarded to the business firms requesting coops.
3. Business firms evaluate candidate applications and set up interviews with candidates of their choice. Business firms then notify student who has been accepted as coop. Student may accept or reject the offered cooperative.

Time Required:

Determined by business firm involved in the cooperative. Normally 20 contact hours per week during an academic semester (Fall, Spring). During the Fall and Spring sessions these hours would be completed over a 15-week period. During the Summer session 40 contact hours per week would typically be completed over an 8-week period.

Activities Required:

Once the initial cooperative experience has been approved by the CIS Department, cooperative activities are determined by the employing business firm. Cooperatives are monitored by the CIS internship coordinator periodically by phone and on site. Participants in cooperatives are required to provide a written journal of activities.

GET IN TOUCH WITH Department of Computer Information Sciences

Department of Computer Information Sciences
Stoffer, Room 304
1700 SW College Ave.
Topeka, KS 66621

Phone & Email
Phone: 785.670.1739
cis@washburn.edu