Mechanical Engineering Internship Guidelines

An internship should complement your academic program and provide relevant experience in your chosen career field. It is our goal to make this as easy and meaningful as possible. To help insure that you register correctly and get credit for an internship while satisfying these goals, please adhere to this procedure.

Conditions for ME Internships

All internships:

  1. Are three (3) credits and can be used to replace a free technical elective. Internship credits cannot be used to replace an area technical elective course.
  2. Are required to consist of engineering related responsibilities. Summer experiences such as Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) are acceptable.
  3. Are only for students who have passed Classical Physics I.
  4. Should consist of a minimum of seven week- full time (40 hr/week) employment at the company or research institution.
  5. Are graded as pass‐fail and will not be used in computation of the GPA.
  6. Have your academic advisor as instructor of record unless changed by your advisor.

Application Process

Before your internship, you must secure advisor approval before the last day of classes for the Spring semester to make sure you will be able to register for the summer. Late applications may or may not be accepted depending on the availability of your advisor and/or department chairperson. Starting work before beginning the internship is acceptable but that work cannot be applied toward satisfaction of the internship. Before beginning an internship, students must provide:

  1. Company name, mailing address, email, and telephone number of you and your supervisor. (For an REU arrangement, the contact information for the program director at the institution).
  2. Written contact (letter or email) from your supervisor describing your duties and verifying that this will be a full‐time (40 hours/week) internship for a period of at least seven weeks.
  3. A completed “Approval Form ‐ Individual Study” signed by your advisor and dept. chairperson.

Internship Activities

During your internship, you should maintain a log of activities and projects you were engaged in, the problems faced, and how the problems were resolved. Your advisor may contact your supervisor, review your log and/or request a visit to the company at any time during the internship.

Concluding the Internship and Earning Credit

After your internship, your supervisor at the company/institution should provide a brief letter or email to your academic advisor verifying that you completed the internship as previously defined. You are also required to provide a report to your advisor. The report should be less than two pages, be typed, and include:

  1. The main tasks completed and your role in them.
  2. How the courses you have completed assisted in your ability to complete those main tasks.
  3. How your internship influenced your career plans.