Internships

Mechanical & Biomedical Engineering Department Internship Information Sheet

We encourage our mechanical engineering students to take advantage of the many internship opportunities available in the public and private sectors, within and beyond the State of Idaho. In addition to gaining valuable engineering experience, you may use your internship experience as a technical or mechanical engineering elective in our curriculum.

How do I sign up for an internship?

Forms are available on-line through the Career Center http://career.servicelearningpro.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=student.main . You’ll be asked to briefly describe your internship plan on the form. Your supervisor at your job must approve your internship plan before we can proceed. Your advisor and the Mechanical Engineering Department Chair must approve your internship plan as well. Based upon the engineering content of your plan, you will be approved to enroll in either ME 293 or ME 493 (Mechanical Engineering Internship). You must enroll in ME 293 or ME 493 in the same semester that you acquire your work experience.

How many hours of experience are required for three credits of internship?

You can earn one semester credit for 50 hours of engineering work experience during the semester. Therefore, a 3-credit internship requires 150 hours, or about 10 hours per week of engineering work experience during the Fall or Spring semester.

How do I get my internship grade?

Your internship grade is based upon your final report, which you will give to your advisor near the end of the semester. It’s best to provide your advisor with a preliminary draft of your final report so that changes and corrections can be suggested and implemented. Please give your advisor time to review your report by turning it in at least two weeks before the end of the semester. NOTE: All draft and final reports MUST be signed by your job supervisor before you submit them to us.

What should I put in my report?

The report should be a professional document, free of spelling and grammatical errors. It should contain the following elements:

1) Description of the organization for whom you worked (How big is the company? What do they produce? )

2) Description of your position within the organization (what was a typical day like?)

3) Detailed description of one project you worked on (include drawings/charts/data if appropriate)

4) Brief closing comments reflecting on your experience and how it reinforced your classroom learning (or not).

5) A signature from your supervisor at work.

The reports vary in length, depending on the kind of project you describe, but they are typically10 to 20 pages long (including cover material, charts, photographs, but not including appendices).

How can I find an internship?

Companies and agencies interested in hiring engineering students often provide information to Leandra Aburusa-Lete, Coordinator of Student Support Services (ET 101). Your professors and advisors may also learn about internships from their contacts with the engineering community. It’s a good idea to let us all know that you are interested in an internship, so that we can keep you in mind if something comes up. If you’ve already got an engineering-related job, you can usually arrange for an internship with your current employer.