CS 4890 Cooperative Work Experience
The purpose of this course is to permit Computer Science majors who are currently working in a computer related job or internship to receive academic credit for their work, with coordination and approval of a faculty mentor and their supervisor.
CS 4890 Employment/Internship Qualification Guide
CS 4890 is designed to allow students to receive upper division CS credit for their employment/internship during a semester or block. This course requires that the student perform work at a job/internship which compliments the Computer Science curriculum. This means that to be considered for this course the student should be spending significant work time doing programming, advanced database management, data analytics, or other Computer Science related activities. CS 4890 is an upper division course and as such requires professional expertise equivalent to an upper-division computer science student.
Some examples of work/internship that are NOT acceptable are: system or network administration, technical support, help-desk, PC building/repair, working with spreadsheets, data entry, sales positions, or any technical tasks which are simple and repetitive. If a student has any questions regarding if a position/internship qualifies for CS 4890 credit, the student is responsible for communicating any such questions to the CS 4890 instructor. The work/internship must occur during the semester or block for which the student is receiving credit for CS 4890. A student must register for the class prior to the registration deadline for the semester and must receive instructor approval prior to registering for the course.
Class credit is awarded according to the following schedule:
- 1 Credit hour = 5 work hours per week
- 2 Credit hours = 10 work hours per week
- 3 Credit hours = 15 work hours per week
- 4 Credit hours = 20 work hours per week
Steps:
To be approved to register, please send responses to the following questions via email to the faculty assigned to the course the semester you plan to take the course./computing/faculty-staff.html
Name:
W#
Job description: Explain what you do in this position, and how it relates to computer science. It does not need to be a formal HR description, but it should demonstrate the relationship. This information will allow us to determine if your position justifies upper division CS credit.
How many hours per week do you work? (Determines the number of credits.)
Provide your supervisor’s name. You need to speak with your supervisor and make sure they are willing to fill out an employee evaluation at the end of the semester.
FAQs:
How many credit hours will I receive for this course?
The amount of upper-division credit awarded will be determined by the department, depending on the nature and quantity of work performed. In general, it follows this table.
- 1 Credit hour = 5 hours per week
- 2 Credit hours = 10 hours per week
- 3 Credit hours = 15 hours per week
- 4 Credit hours = 20 hours per week
What are the prerequisites for this course?
Prerequisite: CS 2420
How long does the internship/job need to run?
The internship or job must run the entire length of the semester you registered.
Can I get credit for a previous internship/job?
The internship or job must be worked during the semester credit is received (it is not retroactive for a previous internship).
Does this count towards my CS degree?
It depends on your catalog year. Please ask an advisor if this course will count for you specifically.
Students obtaining a regular CS bachelor's degree can only slot 4800/4860/4890 as an upper division elective in the Other Upper Division Electives section, and not in the 6-8 hour CS Upper Division Electives section. (Note that more recent CS catalog years will put the first 2 hours of 4890 into an explicit 4890 slot before Other Upper Division Electives.
Students declared in the CS Customized degree (only available for those pursuing a minor, dual major, or second bachelor's degree) cannot apply CS 4800/4850/4890 to their elective section.
Note that if you need to simply fill the 40 hour university upper division requirement, then CS 4800/4850/4890 can help there.
If you are unable to find an internship prior to the semester that you graduate, there are options to complete the Internship requirements.
The first option would be to participate in Faculty Directed Research (CS 4850). In this course you would work with a Computer Science faculty member assisting the faculty member in doing research. Please reach out to the instructor who is teaching the CS 4890 to find out which professors are doing research. The professor will send you a list of professors conducting research. It is your responsibility to reach out to those faculty members to see if they are willing to work with you on their research. Please note that CS 4850 is not listed in the schedule. Sections are created on demand and need instructor approval of the faculty member doing the research.
The next option if CS 4850 does not work is CS 4800 (Individual Project). In this course, you do a self-directed project that the CS 4800 instructor must pre-approve. Generally this project must be of sufficient rigor to demonstrate what you have learned in your CS program.
If you are unable to find an internship, please reach out to the instructor who is teaching the CS 4890 course with the following information:
- The exception to take 4850 or 4800 is only available during the semester in which a student graduates.
- Send an email the instructor teaching CS 4890, including your name and W#.
- Provide a detailed list of the steps that you have taken to find an internship or job. Include the companies and organizations to which you have applied for a job or internship.
- Include your anticipated semester for graduation
- It is expected that students will have met with the Employment and Internship Advisor for the college, and have put significant effort into finding an internship. The CS 4890 instructor will work with you to approve CS 4850 or CS 4800 as an alternative as appropriate.