M.S. Internships

Under certain circumstances, it is possible to earn course credits for working on projects with educational value in an industrial setting. If eligible, MSCS and MSIS students can take up to two internship opportunities for three credits each in their program. MS-CEI students are eligible to take one summer internship for three credits after completing two full-time semesters in the program. For the MSCEI program, the internship will count towards one of the MSCEI applications electives. Eligible students may take one internship per semester with one employer. One internship can count towards one three credit internship course.

Internship Qualifications

To qualify for an internship, a student must meet the following qualifications. The student must be in good academic standing. To be in good academic standing, a student cannot be on probation, must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 and must have successfully completed at least 66% of courses attempted. Students not in good academic standing will not be approved for internship opportunities.

For full-time students, students must have successfully completed two semesters of full-time graduate course work before the internship is to begin. If you have taken graduate courses outside of NYU, we may consider your graduate course work at your previous institution towards this requirement, as long as it was in a related field. Please contact your advisor. Please note that the two full-time semesters must be completed before you can begin your internship. However, you can apply while still completing your second semester. For example, if you begin your studies in the fall semester, you will have completed two semesters at the end of the spring semester. As such, you would potentially qualify for a summer internship. While you would not be able to work until the summer semester, you could and are encouraged to apply during the spring semester.

For part-time students, students must have successfully completed six graduate courses before the internship is to begin. If you have taken graduate courses outside of NYU, we may consider your graduate course work at your previous institution towards this requirement, as long as it was in a related field. Please contact your advisor. Please note that the sixth graduate course must be completed before you can begin your internship. However, you can apply while still completing your sixth course. For example, if you are enrolled in your sixth course in the spring semester, you would potentially qualify for a summer internship. While you would not be able to work until the summer semester, you could and are encouraged to apply during the spring semester for internship approval from the department.

Students who are working in full-time positions are eligible to apply for internship credits for their current jobs, as long as they meet all of the qualifications and agree to the evaluation process.

The job responsibilities of the internship will be reviewed by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) or by the Associate Director of Graduate Studies for the CS Master's program in Information Systems. The internship should be educational in nature and should be consistent with the goals and educational mission of the master's program. The description of the work will be evaluated to determine if it qualifies to be counted as graduate level course work.

For the MSCS program, the internship course counts as 3 credits toward the 9 credit "outside electives" category. For the MSIS program, the internship course counts as 3 credits towards the 12 credits of electives. For the MSCEI program, the internship course counts as 3 credits towards the application elective.

Transfer Credits and Internship Eligibility

Master's students are able to transfer up to nine credits of graduate course work, as approved by the DGS and the Vice Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Science. Students who transfer nine credits will not be eligible for any internship opportunities. Students who transfer six credits will be eligible for one internship opportunity. Students who transfer three credits will be eligible for two internship opportunities. This rule applies for both MSCS and MSIS students.

9 transfer credits = eligible for 0 internship opportunity

6 transfer credits = eligible for 1 internship opportunity

3 transfer credits = eligible for 2 internship opportunities

Relevant Graduate Courses and Internship Eligibility

As part of their degree requirements, MSCS students have the potential to take relevant graduate courses outside of Courant. Potentially, they can take up to nine credits of courses outside of Courant, dependent upon the approval of the DGS. MSCS students should note that these credits apply to the same area that internship credits and transfer credits do. This is the area on the MSCS Degree Requirement Form that deals with the remaining nine credits that students need to complete for the degree. If a student fills those credit options up with relevant graduate courses, or any of the other options, the student will not be eligible for an internship.

Applying for Internships

To apply for internship credit, please fill out this form. Your request will be sent to and processed by your advisor.

For F1 International Students: When your request for internship credit is approved by the department, you will be notified by your advisor. At that time, you will be given instruction to submit your CPT request form via the OGS website. Please do not submit your CPT request before getting approval for your internship from the department.

The internship application process takes time. After an application is received, the student's academic record is reviewed to determine if the student qualifies for an internship. If the student does qualify, the potential supervisor is sent an e-mail to confirm the job description and to review the evaluation process. Once the supervisor responds, the application is sent to the DGS or the Associate Director of Graduate Studies for the CS Master's program in Information Systems for consideration. Once a decision is made, the student is e-mailed to let him or her know the status of the request.

Students who are approved for internship credit will register for CSCI-GA 3870-001 Internship in Computer Science for 3 credits. Internships must be at least 8 weeks long and at least 10 hours per week minimum. Internships in the fall and spring semesters may not exceed 20 hours per week. Summer internships may exceed 20 hours per week.

CSCI-GA.3870 Internship In Computer Science (3 credits)
mraduate-level. Fall, Spring, Summer.
Prereqisites: Permission of Director of Graduate Studies.

Participation in a programming project or research project conducted outside the university in a governmental, commercial, or academic setting. Open only to graduate students with permission of the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS). Students must submit a brief written description of their work to the DGS before starting the internship and submit a written summary of their work when it is completed. MS students in the MSCS and MSIS programs may take the internship course a maximum of two times and a maximum of one time in the MSCEI program.

The approval process is a lengthy one that requires many steps. Students should allow for at least two weeks before a decision is made. Be sure to plan accordingly and apply as soon as possible.

Evaluation and Internship Report Guidelines

All students are required to submit a report at the end of their internship. The report must be at least 6 pages in length (not including the cover page). The report should be written in your own words. One should treat the report as a professional, scholarly document. This means proper citations must be given if text is taken from a company website, trade brochures, or any other public sources. The report will count towards 20% of the internship grade. All reports must be approved by the student’s supervisor. Students can either have the supervisor sign off on a hard copy version of the report or can forward an e-mail to their advisor from the supervisor stating that the report has been read and approved. The report must be submitted to the student's advisor within two weeks after finishing their internship. Failure to submit the report on time could affect the approval of a future internship.

The report should follow the following format:

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Cover Page
The following information must be provided on the first page. It should be centered in the middle of the page:

Name
Student ID Number
Degree Program (MSCS or MSIS)
Internship Semester and Year
Employer and Employer Location
Supervisor Name and E-mail
Disclaimer: This report is submitted to NYU’s Computer Science Department for the sole purpose of assigning an internship grade. The information remains confidential and proprietary to the company.

2. Abstract
An abstract is not an introduction, it is a brief (50-70 words) summary of your report.

3. Introduction Explain which company you interned with, where the facility was located, what the business of the company is, the area you worked in and the main emphasis of your internship.

4. Discussion of Projects
Discuss in detail the areas of responsibility you had to deal with during your internship. Although this is an overview of your internship experience, include technical details about the projects you worked on. How many lines of code? What technologies, languages, tools, systems were used? Discuss the significance of your efforts relative to the company’s operations.

5. Summary and Conclusions
Summarize your work and learning experience. Explain how the internship either reinforced or changed your career goals. Discuss any new perspectives you obtained because of this experience. Elaborate on the benefits you realized from the internship. Did you face any challenges or difficulties in your assignments? How did you solve these issues? In what ways did you apply what you have learned in your graduate courses to the internship? What NYU courses have been helpful? What useful skills could NYU have provided for you? What curriculum additions or changes would you suggest as a result of your experiences?

Supervisor Evaluation

The supervisor must also complete a written evaluation of the student. Supervisors can either complete the departmental evaluation form they are given or they can submit their own written evaluation form. The department will contact the supervisor directly to provide the evaluation tool and further instructions.

Students who are requesting internship credit for their full-time jobs should note that they will still need to create a report that is approved by the supervisor and must have the supervisor submit an evaluation on their performance, even if they are already being evaluated as a full-time employee.

A student will not receive a grade in the course until all required internship materials are submitted.

Additional Guidelines for Students

Important Considerations Before Accepting a Job or Internship

GSAS Policy on Internships for Academic Credit

For Employers:

Please follow the terms and conditions when posting a job.

Additional Guidelines for International Students

International students interested in internships for course credit can utilize Curricular Practical Training (CPT), if eligible. Students should review the requirements and qualifications for CPT on the NYU Office of Global Services (OGS) website. Getting authorization through OGS takes additional time. Students should be sure to apply early for their internships. International students in our MS programs may only work 20 hours or less per week on CPT or pre-completion OPT during the fall or spring semesters.

Contact your advisor or the graduate advising team at graduate@cs.nyu.edu if you have questions about your internship eligibility.