Graduate Internship Credit

Introduction

The Portland Metro area offers many opportunities for internships to graduate students. Many students complete one or more internships with local companies during their time at PSU. We believe internships provide a valuable training experience that significantly augments the student’s academic program.

While some students choose to participate in an internship without receiving academic credit, others find it important that they receive academic credit (CS 504 Internship) for their internships, which can count towards CS graduate degree requirements with approval:

  • A maximum of 3 internship credits can be counted towards the M.S. degree.
  • A maximum of 6 internship credits can be counted towards the Ph.D. degree.
  • A maximum of 3 internship credits can be counted per term towards a degree program (students can register for more internship credits per term, but the additional credits will not count towards the degree requirements).
  • Internship credits are graded Pass/No Pass.
  • The internship credit value per term is determined by the total amount of time devoted to the internship, which must be documented in the offer letter:
  • At least 100 hours in a term = 1 credit
  • At least 200 hours or more in a term = 1-3 credits, at the student’s option

To receive credit for an internship towards their degree program, the student must meet the eligibility requirements below and submit a request to the department for approval.

Eligibility

To be eligible to receive credit for an internship:

  • A student must have completed at least one term and minimum 9 credits in the CS graduate (Masters or Ph.D.) program that they are currently enrolled in.
  • A student must be in good academic standing as defined by the University and the CS Department.
  • A student must have received a job/internship offer letter that describes the work that they will be doing in sufficient detail to assess its relevance to the student’s CS degree program.
  • International students will also have to meet the requirements for Curricular Practical Training (CPT) and must consult with the Office of International Students and Scholars Services (intl-services@pdx.edu) to check eligibility.

Approval Process

To receive approval for internship credit, the student must complete the following steps. (Note that these steps must be followed, even if the internship credit is not being counted towards degree requirements.)

Step 1. Submit the online CS Graduate Internship Credit Request Form . To complete this form, the student will need the following:

  • An up-to-date M.S. Plan of Study or Ph.D. Plan of Study .
  • A copy of the job/internship offer letter containing the job title description of duties; start and end date (or duration); number of hours per week; whether the internship will pe in-person, hybrid, or remote; and physical address where the work will take place (personal or compensation details can be redacted).

Step 2 (International students only). Once the student’s eligibility for Curricular Practical Training (CPT) is confirmed, they must complete the CPT application within WorldLink. The student will need to provide their offer letter, start date, and the contact information for Ella Barrett, Computer Science Graduate Advisor ( gccs@pdx.edu ).

Step 3. Once the relevant steps above are complete, the internship request will be reviewed. Please allow a few business days for a response. Incomplete requests will not be processed.

Registering for Internship Credits

Upon approval of the internship credit request, and CPT approval (for international students only), the student will receive instructions for submitting an online By Arrangement form for CS504 Internship, with the approved internship credit value.

At the end of each quarter of the internship, the student must write a description of what they actually did for the internship, as part of the Graduate Internship Status Report form . After the student completes this form, they should send it to their supervisor, who will need to review the report, sign the form, and send it to the Computer Science Graduate Advisor (gccs@pdx.edu) from their work email address no later than 5pm Friday of finals week for the term. Failure to submit the status report by the deadline may prevent the student from receiving a grade or credit for the internship.

Additional Information for International students

International students can work at internships (even unpaid ones) only if they are approved for Curricular Practical Training (CPT). Here are some of the most important regulations involving CPT:

  • Student must have completed at least one academic year of full-time study in the United States (3 consecutive terms, or approximately 9 months)
  • Student must have F-1 visa status at the time they apply
  • Student must normally be enrolled full-time (9 credits), if their CPT happens during a regular academic term (excluding Summer).
  • Student must be enrolled for at least one internship credit (CS 5/604) even during Summer term.
  • Ph.D. students who have advanced to candidacy and are working exclusively on their dissertation generally only need to carry one internship credit (CS 604) and one dissertation credit (CS 603/603C) per term.  If the student’s Faculty Advisor confirms that the internship is directly related to the student’s dissertation research, then the single dissertation credit may be acceptable in place of the internship credit.

Consult Curricular Practical Training (CPT) and the Office of International Students and Scholars Services ( intl-services@pdx.edu ) for more details and authoritative information.