Internships

CPSP 239T is the "internship practicum"

Students who have have held STS-related internships or summer jobs, or who have pursued serious service activities, may enroll in CPSP 239T, which is offered each semester on Thursdays at 3:40-5:00pm. Prior to enrolling, write up a description of your experience and email Dr. Mendelsohn.

Freshmen are prepared to seek meaningful work by completing a series of activities during November and February of freshman year.  As sophomores, about 20 of these students will choose to earn credit for internships they have completed, and a greater number will have secured internships.  Sophomores create presentations about their internships in the CPSP239T course, which they then deliver to the freshmen.  This leadership proves to be inspirational, as each year increasing numbers of freshmen compete for challenging research and work opportunities.  About 2/3 of STS sophomores secured summer jobs related to their majors in 2011.

To request a letter of recommendation from Dr. Mendelsohn, express your interest 10 days in advance of the due date, provide materials describing the opportunity, your updated resume and application statement, and the recommendation letter requirements, and schedule a meeting with her.  Each year, Dr. Mendelsohn writes more than 50 letters, increasingly for students moving on to graduate school.

Internships

STS students who secure an internship, especially if they wish it paid more, should learn about the $1,500 internship award administered by the Scholars STS program.

Where do students work in the summer?

The best place to learn about internships is through the University Career Center's Careers4Terps database.

In the summer after their freshmen year, STS students have secured paid internships at the NSF-funded REU sites in nanotechnology at University of California, Santa Barbara, and in artificial intelligence at University of Texas, El Paso.  Students have secured internships at the Army Research Lab, National Institutes of Science and Technology, Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health, Smithsonian Institution, and with many private companies.