Co-ops & Internships
When students engage in real-world work experiences, they gain valuable insights into the types of roles they enjoy (and those they do not) while developing essential professional skills. These opportunities help students build confidence, expand their networks, and add meaningful experience to their resumes. Employers also benefit from working with students by providing them with hands-on training in skills specific to the employers’ needs while assessing potential organizational fit. Many student employment experiences ultimately lead to full-time employment offers, creating a mutually beneficial pathway for both students and employers.
Some Tech programs require that students to acquire hands-on experience with employers while earning course credit. This often occurs through academic internships or cooperative education programs (often referred to as a co-op). There are situations similar to internships and co-ops that go by other names such as field experience and practicums. Be sure to review your degree program’s requirements and then speak with your academic advisor and a career coach about your options.
Co-ops
Co-ops normally consist of multiple semesters working for a single employer spread throughout a degree program. The program is a close collaboration between the employer and the university. A co-op is a for-credit learning experience which means students must be enrolled in a particular course while performing work for the employer. Students engage in work that closely relates to what they are studying in the classroom. This sort of experience is most common in engineering programs, but students in other majors can also participate in co-ops.
Tech is currently building cooperative education opportunities for students. If you are interested in participating in a co-op, please let the Career Center know by emailing careercenter@indianatech.edu.
Internships
Internships are work experiences that typically last one semester. They can be part-time or full-time and usually take place at the employer’s worksite. Students can enroll in formal internship courses or complete internships on their own. While only some majors require students to complete an internship for credit, every student can benefit from stepping into a professional setting and seeing how their strengths translate outside the classroom. Even short-term or part-time internships can give you an edge when applying for jobs down the road.
There are two main types of internships at Indiana Tech: academic and non-academic. Please see the descriptions of each type below. International students must only engage in academic internships. In other words, international students cannot complete nonacademic internships. To learn more about this restriction, see this website’s CPT section.
Academic internships
During an academic internship, students earn course credit and receive additional supervision through the university. Academic internships require that students enroll in an internship course. The enrollment process is to be completed once the student receives an offer from an employer for an internship.
If you have found an internship opportunity and would like to know if you can earn credit for it, please contact either the Career Center or your academic advisor. We can help determine if the internship is suitable for credit and get you started on the academic internship registration process.
If you are a student with a documented disability (physical, academic, emotional, or mental) and are interested in federal (government) internships, you might be a candidate for the Workforce Recruitment Program, a federal disability program providing a more accessible hiring process. For more information about the program, please see Disability Employment Programs.
Non-academic internships
A non-academic internship is an internship students can engage without earning academic credit through their school. This type of internship is purely for real-world experience that helps you explore your interests, build professional skills, and get a taste of life after graduation. You do not need Indiana Tech’s approval for nonacademic internships. However, Tech would still like to know about the work you are doing. So, if you’re currently working in a nonacademic internship or have already completed one, please tell us about it. Contact the Career Center if you have any questions or concerns.