Internships and Co-ops

The ISE department encourages students to participate in the Work-Study program, where they will acquire practical engineering work experience during their undergraduate education.   Work experience allows the student to apply the lessons and skills learned in their coursework to various industrial and systems engineering environments. Students may earn course credit for their experience that can be used to satisfy a Department/Technical Elective.

Job Search
Students are responsible for securing their own job opportunities by applying directly to hiring companies.  Rutgers Career Services https://careers.rutgers.edu/ offers a range of support, including online job listings and face-to-face career events.  The department also emails ISE students job posts when they are received.  Students are encouraged to take advantage of all support resources and apply early to secure their own work experience opportunity.

Internship/Co-Op for Credit Courses
14:540:496 Internship/Co-Op (3 credits) Grade (P, NC)
14:540:497 Internship/Co-Op (3 credits) Grade (P, NC)

Internships
An Internship Program is a short-term job where students typically work full-time during the summer or part-time during the fall/spring term and must accumulate at least 135 hours of work experience to receive credit.  Students register for 540:496, submit weekly reports and a final report at completion of the Internship to receive credit. Students can earn credit for a second internship by registering for 540:497, following the same requirements as the first Internship.

Co-Ops
The Co-Op Program is usually a longer-term work experience, typically lasting for a period of 6 continuous months, including a summer and overlapping spring or fall term, and where the student accumulates at least 270 hours of work experience to receive credit. Students typically register part-time during the overlapping term for both 540:496 and 540:497.   Note that if a student reduces course loads during the Co-Op, they may take more than four years to complete the BS Industrial Engineering degree.

Max Credits
Students earn credit for a maximum of two technical electives, or a maximum of 6 credits applied towards their degree for any combination of Internship/ Co-Op experience and Research credits.  Note that students are free to pursue as many Internships or Co-Op Program experiences as they desire during their undergraduate education; however, they can earn a maximum of 6 credits towards their degree.

Applying for Credit
Students applying to enroll in an Internship/Co-Op for credit course, should start by sending the Undergraduate Director a copy of the offer letter from their employer.  Once the Internship/Co-Op is approved, the student registers obtains an SPN for the Fall or Spring term following their internship.

Note: Internship or Co-Op must be approved before the start of employment to receive credit.