Internships, Jobs & Networking

The Department of Computer Science aims to support our students in their objectives to grow professionally towards internships, junior or associate positions, and graduate school and research. We collaborate with the WCU Career Development Center in department programming, networking, and other career opportunities.

CSC Internship/Jobs Calendar - Fall 2025

  • Sep24

    WCU Job & Internship Fair, 12p-4p


    Student Rec Center

  • Oct08

    WCU Volunteer & Non-Profit Fair, 11a-2p


    Sykes Ballrooms

    • The WCU Career Development Center (located at 225 Lawrence Center) also offers to CSC students:

    1. Handshake: available to students and alumni and employers for the posting of internships, part-time, and full-time jobs.
    2. Iris Air Photo Booth: Students, faculty, and staff are welcome to continue to take advantage of our professional photo booth services Monday-Friday from 8: 30 am-4:00 pm; no appointment is needed.
    3. Career Closet: Students who need a professional outfit are welcome to stop by our Career Closet Monday-Friday from 8:30 am-4:00 pm. 

    Lunch & Learn Series

    The CSC Department and WCU Career Development Center are happy to host and facilitate small presentations and conversations between employers and our majors, at the department-level, in a smaller setting compared to our larger university career fairs. 

    The presentations are typically given in a computer science classroom, in our computer science building (25 University Ave. UNA), with a maximum capacity of 25 students. Employers are able to speak directly to our students about job/internship opportunities, company culture, career advice, general guidance, or even a CS technical presentation, etc. In our advertisements to students beforehand, we will provide an abstract to students about the upcoming talk and the recommended audience. We will provide light refreshments to all attendees.

    Fall 2025 Schedule: TBA

    If you are an employer interested in learning more and potentially speaking directly to our students, please email the Internship Director, Dr. Richard Burns, for more information.

    Meet & Greet

    Computer Science faculty Drs. Kim and Ngo have led our WCSMG (Meet & Greet) over the past several years, where senior students gave talks on their internship experience (at Deloitte, QSI, Vanguard, Lockheed Martin, CSL, …) including interview questions, resume skills, etc.  The target audience for this event is all CS students who will be interviewing for software engineering internships and/or full-time jobs in the near future.  

    The Meet & Greet is typically held once per semester, timed to align with the typical internship and job search window. 

     

    Internship Courses

    CSC students may apply to have their internship recognized for college-level credit. 

     

    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

     

    Registration

    To request permission to register for CSC400/605 in an upcoming academic session, complete the below CSC Internship application.  Once approved, CSC will create a RamPortal enrollment permission for you to register for your internship course (CSC400/605) and pay for the credit hours. You will also be automatically enrolled in a D2L course for the submission of a final report.

    Steps to Complete an Internship for Academic Credit

    Step 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:

      • web site design, development, and deployment (publishing);
      • computer operation help-desk personnel involving problem clearance;
      • web team member;
      • 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. 

    Step 2: Submit an application using the above link.

    Step 3: Begin working on the project or job.

    Step 4: Employee Comment Sheet. You will have access to a D2L course during the semester in which you have registered for the internship. An Employee Comment Sheet will be available on D2L.  You will ask your supervisor to complete this document and e-mail it to the Internship Director.

    Step 5: Submit a Final Report via an Assignments Folder on D2L. This should be done before the final week of the semester in which you have registered for the internship.  Without doing so, you will receive an NG grade, which automatically changes to an F after the 9th week of the following semester.  You need to document two aspects of the internship:

      • What have you used during the internship?
      • What have you learned during the period?

    The report does not have to be lengthy as long as you document the necessary information.  A cover sheet is also required and 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.

    Step 6: 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 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.  These documents are due by the last day of the internship period during the academic session that you are registered.

    Q: Can I use a job I am currently working to satisfy the Internship requirements?
    A: Yes. Registration for CSC400 or CSC605 to earn academic 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.  The Internship Director will provide you with more information about this procedure.

    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. The Internship Director will provide you with more information about this procedure.

    Q: Is an Internship required for graduation?
    A: No. The vast majority of our WCU undergraduate and graduate students engage in internships before graduation. Most, but not all, also pursue CSC400/605 Internship registration for college-level credits. Enrollment in CSC400/605 is not necessary for you to engage in an internship experience, but enrollment is necessary for credit recognition and the work to appear on your academic transcript.

    Computer Science Internship Director

    Richard Burns, Ph.D.
    Computer Science Department
    West Chester University
    25 University Ave. Room150
    West Chester, PA 19383
    Phone: 610-436-2690
    Email: rburns [at] wcupa [dot] edu