Internships

Internships allow our students to use the skills acquired during their classes in executing project goals

Approved students who are in good standing in their degree program may earn academic credit for internships. To receive academic credit for an internship, follow the procedure described below.

What our interns have to say
“In Fall 2020, I worked at AMD as a Research Co-Op/Intern. During my time as an intern, I was able to hone my skills in a new setting and test out the waters before committing to a full-time industry position. It gave me the opportunity to work in a team environment, expand my skillset, network, and understand workplace norms and expectations. My advisors and the ICDS department were very supportive and helpful through the CPT process which made for a smooth transition. ”
3/7/22

Abhishek Mishra, CDSE PhD Student

“The Internship at MTX Inc has been an enriching experience that enabled me to discover my own capabilities. The environment at MTX is fast-paced and in a span of two months, I was able to contribute to three key ongoing projects - building a scalable recommendation engine, working on a computer vision task, and building a sports analytics framework. The role of an AI intern at MTX involves working with massive data, training, testing, and evaluating machine learning models for the tasks and incorporating it into a product. ”
3/7/22

Nikita Goswami, Engineering Science MS (Data Science) Student

“Having an internship experience that calls for new challenges almost every day is truly a blessing. My ability to efficiently implement critical algorithms at my internship was a testament to the coursework design at UB. Courses such as Intro to Machine Learning and Statistical Data Mining brought out my best side with the challenging assignments and thoughtful professors we had.”
3/7/22

Karun Parashar, Engineering Science MS (Data Science) Student

“As an intern at a think tank, I was challenged to explore novel research topics. This experience required me to use skills that I acquired in the Data Science program to develop solutions to various data problems. I worked on interesting problems in all aspects of the research, from data collection and cleaning to building models and interpreting the meaning of my results. ”
3/7/22

Thomas Pink, Engineering Science MS (Data Science) Student

“The flexibility of the UB courses and the great course structure helped me to perform at my best during my internship. This experience taught me the importance of application of algorithms while understanding underlying concepts and it developed my collaboration skills. Always be passionate about your field of choice! ”
3/7/22

Shardul Rane, Engineering Science MS (Data Science) Student

“I had a really excellent internship experience at Roswell Park. I have a background in biomedical engineering, so I was very excited to find an internship in data science and in the industry that I want to work in. I was given the privilege to work totally independently to use the skills and experiment with the tools that I learned through the ESDS program. I put a lot of effort and attention into my project and it paid off -- I was actually offered a position in the same department that I interned in!  It couldn't have worked out better for me. ”
3/7/22

Philippa Doherty, Engineering Science MS (Data Science) Student

previous next

Internship Requirements

  1. Your internship must be related to your degree program. The skills you will be enhancing through the internship experience must relate back to the core courses from your program. Your graduate academic coordinator and program director will determine relevancy when you submit your paperwork to enroll in the internship course.
  2. Internship academic credits must be earned in the term/semester in which you worked at the company.  In particular:
    • You cannot receive internship academic credit for internships you have already completed. (Example: you cannot complete a summer internship but enroll in course credits the following fall semester).
    • When you complete an internship during a winter/summer term, you must register for internship academic credit(s) during that winter/summer term.
  3. International students must meet the requirements and deadlines for CPT as outlined by International Student Services (ISS) on their CPT webpage.

Locating an Internship

It is up to each individual student to secure their own internship, but UB has some great resources to help you with your search.

UB Career Design Center Resources

IAD has a list of past companies students have interned with that enrolled students have access to. Students are also encouraged to write to companies that interest you and ask if they have positions available - include your resume and let them know what problems you can help solve for them through your specific skillset.

Students and company representatives at the STEAM Job and Internship Fair organized by the Career Design Center in Alumni Arena.

Students and company representatives at the STEAM Job and Internship Fair organized by the Career Design Center in Alumni Arena. Photographer: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki

You can also connect with past students who have completed internships to get advice on the job search process, or potentially help get contacts at companies you can connect with directly. Current students and alumni are encouraged to join our private LinkedIn Group for networking and IAD updates.

Masters Student Information

Students in the Engineering Science MS (Data Science), Engineering Science (Artificial Intelligence), and MPS Data Science and Applications programs have the option to complete an internship for their culminating course requirement. The earliest students can enroll in the masters project course for their internship is after successful completion of two semesters of full-time study.

Internship Enrollment Steps

  1. Secure an internship. You are responsible for locating and applying for your internship opportunity. This means that you will need to contact potential internship locations; submit your resume, cover letter, and any other documentation that is required; arrange the interviews; etc.
  2. Submit an internship application. Submit to your career coach a completed internship application, which includes a copy of the internship offer letter. The offer letter must:
    • Be on company letterhead and dated
    • Include the position title
    • List the internship start and end dates
    • Specify if it is full time or part-time
    • Include internship description (if not included on the letter, attach this as a separate file)
  3. Await application decision.  Your career coach will notify you of the decision.  
  4. Force Enroll. If approved, the graduate coordinator will force-enroll you into the course for 3 credits.
    • Engineering Science (Data Science) students will be enrolled in EAS 560 Data Science Project
    • Engineering Science (Artificial Intelligence) students will be enrolled in EAS 563 Artificial Intelligence Capstone
    • MPS students will be enrolled in CDA 571 Project Guidance
  5. Apply for CPT (international students only). International students will be required to apply for CPT before the application deadlines. 
  6. Complete your internship! Complete the internship and submit assignments to the program director.
     

PhD Student Information

Students in the CDSE PHD can complete an internship as elective credit towards their degree requirements by enrolling in CDA 601 Individual Problems with their major advisor. Students must have satisfied all of their core course requirements and passed their qualifying exam before they can complete an internship. The industry experience should supplement their research. 

To Enroll in the Course:

  1. Submit internship offer letter and description of internship responsibilities.
  2. Get approval from your primary advisor.
  3. Forward approval to your graduate coordinator with the number of credits you wish to enroll in to get force enrolled into CDA 601.
  4. International students must also apply for CPT and work with their major advisor to complete the Academic Advisor Recommendation Form to be uploaded in the CPT application.
  5. Send written updates to your advisor to earn academic credit.