Computer Science Internships

Internship Courses

West Chester University students may register for a Computer Science Internship and work part time or full time in Summer or during regular semesters.  Students who are not Computer Science majors should use CSC 300 (3 credits).  Computer Science majors should use CSC 400 (6 credits); of the 6 credits, 3 credits can be used to satisfy the major requirements, and the other 3 credits satisfy general electives.  Computer Science graduate students should use the course number CSC 605 (3 credits).

CSC Internship Listings & Job Postings

Current internships opportunities that the department receives are posted on the following platforms:

  1. Computer Science Discord Server, #internships channel
  2. Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/WCUCS
  3. WCU Handshake maintained by the WCU Career Development Center 

Course Prerequisites

Undergraduate (CSC 400)

  • Completion of CSC 141,142, 240, 241 and MAT 151, 161 (each with a C- or better)
  • CSC GPA of 2.5 or better and MAT GPA of 2.0 or better

Graduate (CSC 605)

  • Completion of CSC 520, 530, 540, 560 (each with a B or better)
  • CSC GPA of 3.0 or better

Computer Science Internship Director

  • (thru May 31, 2024)
  • Cheer-sun D. Yang, Ph.D.
  • Computer Science Department
  • West Chester University
  • 25 University Ave. #145
  • West Chester, PA 19383
  • Phone: 610-738-0450
  • Email Dr. Yang
  • Dr. Yang's Website
  •  
(beginning June 1, 2024)
Richard Burns, Ph.D.
Computer Science Department
West Chester University
25 University Ave. #150
West Chester, PA 19383
Phone: 610-436-2690
Email Dr. Burns

Computer Science Internship Jobs

 

Registration

Complete this CSC Internship application. Once approved, CSC will create a myWCU/RamPortal enrollment permission for you to register for your internship course (CSC400/605) and pay for the credit hours.

Final Report Submission 

You need to submit the Final Report in order to receive a letter grade. Please be sure to submit it via the Dropbox of D2L for keeping a record of your submission; do not send your Final Report via email to the Internship Director.

Steps to Complete an Internship

  1. Find a suitable job or project which provides an opportunity to apply what you have learned in the Computer Science Department to problem-solving during the internship. Some jobs will not be approved for this purpose; for example, watching an alarm over night, answering phone calls, minor web site maintenance, delivering pizza, etc. Acceptable jobs or projects include, but are not limited to, the following:

    1. web site design, development, and deployment (publishing);
    2. computer operation help-desk personnel involving problem clearance;
    3. web team member;
    4. member in a start-up company overseeing some or all of the company operation.

      The acceptance criteria focus more on quality than quantity. For instance, working 100 hours per week as a data entry person is not as valuable as working 5 hours per week for 4 weeks designing a web site. Students can use the above jobs link as a starting point. The listings can be useful regardless of the posting date because employers may need to more hires.

  2. Submit an application. Follow an Internship Application menu link to generate an application document. Email this application document with a copy of the offer letter to the Internship Director.

  3. Begin working on the project or job.

  4. Download an Employee Comment Sheet (via this link, or through D2L).  Allow your supervisor to complete this document and e-mail it to the Internship Director.

  5. Submit a Final Report. This should be done before the final week of the semester in which you have registered for the internship. You need to document two aspects of the internship:

  6. Please make sure that you complete and submit the final report via the D2L Dropbox before the final week in order to obtain a letter grade. Without doing so, you will receive an NG grade, which automatically changes to an F after the 9th week of the following semester.
    1. What have you used during the internship?
    2. What have you learned during the period?

      The report does not have to be lengthy as long as you document the necessary information. The cover sheet should include your name, student ID, the name of the project/job, time period, location, and supervisor information. The body of the report should cover the two aspects listed above. There is no page limit on the report.

  7. You do not have to wait for completion of the internship to submit the final report. You can continue to work on the internship after submission. Doing so may be necessary if the working period is not consistent with the Summer II or regular semester period.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How should I find job opportunities?
A: You should start by browsing the job resources linked on this page.

Q: Do I need to submit any document during the internship period?
A: No. The only paperwork is (1) The final Report and (2) The Employer Comment Sheet. 

Q: Can I use the job I am working on as part of the Internship?
A: Yes. But you still need to register for CSC400 or CSC605 to earn the credits. 

Q: If the job offer is inconsistent with the period of a semester, which semester will the CSC400 be applied to?
A: In many cases, a job offer is inconsistent with our regular semester period (e.g. winter). You may work first and communicate with the Internship Director afterwards. It is possible to count the time working in winter towards the spring semester. 

Q: What is the format of the Final Report?
A: There is no rule about the format as long as you provide a cover sheet to include the name of the company, the supervisor's contact information, the duration, with short paragraphs documenting (1) what you need to complete the internship, and (2) what you have learned. 

Q: Is there any difference between a paid job and an unpaid job?
A: The application procedure is a little bit different for unpaid jobs. The company must establish a partnership relation with WCU first.