Students in the College of IST have many internship and job search resources available to them. Previous interns have successfully identified internship opportunities by:

• searching Nittany Lion Careers, where employers post internship and full-time opportunities targeting Penn State students
• using other job posting sites
• using LinkedIn's job search and alumni engagement tools
• networking with local businesses, family, and friends
• connecting with IST faculty
• searching Penn State's job site

Additionally, you can explore what other IST students have been doing to fulfill their internship requirement through our Internship Registration Database.  Please note that this information is reported by students and has not been edited.

A position doesn't necessarily need to be called an internship to qualify for the credit. It simply needs to meet the internship criteria and be approved by the Office of Career Solutions and Corporate Engagement.

Once you've secured an internship, you must get it approved and complete the IST 495 course to meet the internship requirement. To do so, send an email to careers@ist.psu.edu indicating:

• Name of the company you will be interning with and title of the position
• Brief description of your responsibilities as they relate to your major
• Start and end dates
• Number of hours you will be working per week
• Total number of hours you will be working over one semester (or two consecutive semesters)
• Semester in which you are completing the above hours

You will be contacted via email if your internship has been approved for credit or if additional information is required.

Once the internship has been reviewed and approved, the Office of Career Solutions and Corporate Engagement will email you an application link so you can be registered for IST 495. Upon completion of the application, an email will be sent to your supervisor for employer verification of the internship. Be sure to review the additional information about enrollment verifications and affiliation agreements, which may be required by your employer.

After your employer has verified your internship:

• The Office of Career Solutions and Corporate Engagement will register you for IST 495. You cannot register for this course in LionPATH on your own.
• You will receive an email confirming your registration with links to your online evaluations. You must keep this email for your records.

All other deliverables will be found in Canvas and include online discussions, online professional development modules, and a final internship reflection. Deliverables must be completed as assigned in the Canvas course to earn the internship credit. If you are unable to meet this deadline, you must request a grade deferral prior to the end of the semester. If you were approved to complete your internship over two consecutive semesters, your final deliverables will be due prior to the last day of classes for the second semester.

Be sure to review the registrar's website for information related to the maximum number of credits students can take per semester. IST 495 is a one-credit internship course that students must pay for and be registered in while completing their internship; tuition charges and associated fees apply. Rates for tuition, information technology fees, and activity fees can be viewed on the Tuition and Fees Schedule.

Because of the required experiential work hours (240 hours) this class is "counted" as a 12-credit class. This limits students to being permitted to take only 12 credits while completing the internship and IST 495 class. For more information related to Credit Limit Exemptions, please go here.

Internship Credit Restrictions

If you intend to use an internship for IST 495 credit, note that undergraduate and graduate students—whether University personnel or others—are not permitted to receive academic credit for any work, research, or activity in violation of federal law, including work associated with marijuana. Employers involved in the hemp industry, however, may recruit students for both non-credit and credit bearing positions.

If you have questions about a particular internship experience, please contact the Office of Career Solutions and Corporate Engagement.

You must complete 240 hours of work within the allotted semester(s) and complete all of the course requirements in Canvas to a minimum average score of 70% or higher to receive the satisfactory (SA) completion of the IST 495 requirement. If you receive a grade above a 70% but did not meet the hourly requirement, credit cannot be given for the course.

Military students who need to submit a letter grade into the Army grading portal should review information here for how this is managed.

Refer to the email you received with the requested deliverables and online evaluations. If you have misplaced the email, you will need to contact careers@ist.psu.edu.

Note that these evaluation links must come directly from the Office of Career Solutions and Corporate Engagement. The links are directly connected to your Penn State Access ID and your application for registration for IST 495.