Internship Options for CS Students

The Department of Computer Science offers F1 graduate students the opportunity to receive academic credit for part-time or full-time internships through the course MET CS 506 Internship in Computer Science (variable credit). The chosen internship must be integral to the student’s area of study, located at an off-campus facility, and completed within one semester (please refer to the Office of the University Registrar calendar for the accurate semester start and end dates). Students enrolled in the course will be supervised individually by a faculty member from the Department of Computer Science. The internship course may be taken a maximum of two times, with each enrollment representing a different internship opportunity, ideally with a different employer as well. Please note: Course credits earned from the internship will not count toward degree credit requirements.

Eligibility Requirements

• Graduate standing in Applied Data Analytics, Computer Science, Computer Information Systems, Software Development, or Health Informatics is required (variable credit).
• At least six courses must be completed toward the master’s degree program requirements.
• Students must be in good academic standing with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.
• If your internship qualifies for CPT, you will become eligible (from an immigration standpoint) to apply after you have been lawfully enrolled on a full-time basis in a degree program for one full academic year (excluding time spent in an intensive English program) and are currently in F-1 status. Please refer to the International Students and Scholars Office website for further information.

Enrollment Details

Eligible students must seek formal permission to be registered for the course.  Please note the following guidelines:

• Students must have a verifiable internship offer letter from a company in their academic field.
• Students are responsible for identifying a professor who will serve as the faculty sponsor.
• Students will apply to the department for permission using the Internship in CS Application.
• The internship application deadline each semester is the first day of on-campus classes.
• The internship course may be taken a maximum of two times, with each course representing a different internship opportunity, ideally with a different employer as well.

Internship Information

Where are students getting internships?
MET CS students have recently received internships at:

Internship Placement Assistance
Visit our Career Connection to view resources to jump start your internship search. MET Department of Computer Science also works with industry partners who have available internship opportunities for application each semester. For details on what may be available and how to apply, please contact Professor Eugene Pinsky at epinsky@bu.edu.

Software Development Internships at Boston University
Software & Application Innovation Lab (SAIL) at the Hariri Institute for Computing offers paid internship opportunities for undergraduate and graduate Boston University students who are interested an internship within a professional software development environment within a research university context. Interns at the lab have the opportunity to gain experience working with professional software developers and architects as software engineer interns, UI/UX design interns, and graphic design interns. For more information about SAIL, including inquiries for joining the team, please visit the SAIL website.

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I [interned] for a consulting company called Technical Consulting and Research, Inc., as a cybersecurity analyst. It is a research position and I [was] responsible for analyzing the utilization of mobile devices at various corporations and ensuring a compliance with NIST standards as well as CUI handling…The internship is definitely worth it. Since actual work requires a different mindset from academia, it helps you to find jobs easier when you have finished your program. – Atsunori Hattori, MSCIS Alum

Curricular Practical Training (CPT)

When to Apply
International students who are studying on an F1 student visa must have CPT authorized BEFORE beginning work. CPT is authorized by your ISSO Advisor for a specific employer, location, hours and dates. You should always plan to obtain the CPT authorization a few weeks prior to the anticipated start date of your internship. If there is a change of employer, job location, or dates of employment, you must reapply for CPT. Applications must be submitted by the first day of on campus classes for the internship to start in that particular semester.

How to Apply

[1] Secure an offer for training, such as an internship, from an external company. The internship start and end dates must correspond with the start and end dates of the semester in which you are taking the internship. Semester dates are available on the Office of the University Registrar’s website: http://www.bu.edu/reg/calendars/. We do not offer internship placement but you may use the following BU resources to help your search:

• MET CS Job Board https://www.bu.edu/csmet/careers/
• BU Center for Career Development http://www.bu.edu/careers/
• BU MET Career Development https://www.bu.edu/met/careers/

[2] Identify a full time faculty supervisor.

• If you are not already working with a particular full time faculty member, email the Department at csinfo@bu.edu for assistance in identifying a faculty supervisor.

[3] Submit completed internship application packet to Ronette Lyle (metcs@bu.edu) in the Department of Computer Science. Documents include:

• Internship in CS Application
• Offer letter from company (must be on official letterhead)
• The objective and location of the proposed internship (1-2 pages)
• Justification as to how this particular internship will enhance your academic studies (1-2 pages)

If your application is approved by the Department Chair, the department will register you for the internship course MET CS 506 (1 credit for a part-time position of up to 20 hours, or 2 credits for a full-time position of more than 20 hours) and will email you the approved document to upload to the ISSO portal. This process typically takes up to 7 business days to finalize.

[4] Please upload the complete approved CPT application to the ISSO portal along with your most recent I-94 information. This process can take up to 10 business days to be reviewed and processed by your ISSO Advisor.

For further details, please visit the ISSO web site.