Computer Management & Information Systems

Internships/Coops

Undergraduate Level - CMIS 488: Information Systems Internship

Contact the Department Chairman to enroll in this course.

Syllabus: The copy of the syllabus may be accessed here.

Prerequisite: Consent of instructor and internship company.

Course Description: Application of tools from the information systems program to an organization under supervision with a written report of experiences.  May be repeated to a maximum of 6 hours, provided the experiences are not repeated.

Course Objectives:

• Provide students the opportunity to apply knowledge learned during the course of their studies to a real-world environment.
• Provide an internal assessment of the degree to which the departmental curriculum is meeting industry needs.

General:  Enrollment in CMIS 488 requires you to have senior status – you must be a senior during the term in which the internship is to be completed, or you must be enrolling during the Summer term immediately preceding the Fall term for your senior year.  The course is not open to graduate students – graduate students enroll in CMIS 587 for internship credit.

The CMIS 488 internship may be taken for 3 to 6 hours of credit with most students completing 3 credit hours.  The course may be repeated to a maximum of 6 hours credit, 3 hours each in two consecutive terms; however, the internship experience must be different in each term.  This means that you may intern with the same firm both terms, but the position or work assignment must be different each term.  In order to complete 3 credit hours, you must complete at least 120 hours on the job as an intern with the company that is sponsoring your internship.

Internship Company: It is your responsibility to find an internship position.  You may find positions advertised through the Career Development Center or you may find positions through advertisements or by other means.  The CMIS department does not provide internship positions.

How to Enroll: CMIS 488 is credited as a CMIS elective within your program of study.  In order to enroll, you must do the following:

1. Obtain a position as an intern.
2. Complete the Internship Approval Letter.   Take the form to the supervisor at the firm where you will complete your internship – complete the form, and have it signed by the individual who will supervise your work at the firm.
3. Complete the Independent Study/Internship enrollment form (click the hyperlink to obtain a copy readable with Adobe Acrobat – or obtain a copy of the form from the Business Student Services Office).
4. Deliver the signed Internship Approval Letter and the Independent Study/Internship enrollment form to the CMIS Department Chair.   Enrollment will not be approved until the Internship Approval Letter is received in hard-copy (no emails).  If the Department Chair is out of the office, leave both forms with the Department Secretary or student worker.  The CMIS Department Chair will keep the Internship Approval Letter on file as evidence that you have identified a firm that is willing to sponsor the internship.   The Course Enrollment Form will be signed and returned to you.  If you dropped off the forms, you may pick them up at a later time.
5. Go to Business Student Services Office with the signed Enrollment Form and enroll in CMIS 488.

Grading Standard and Required Reports/Evaluations

Written Report: At the end of the internship semester (Fall, Spring, or Summer), you will prepare a written report documenting the learning experience.  The report must address the following points and is limited to a minimum of four and a maximum of six double-spaced pages.

Page 1:  Internship Company Information.  On the first page of your report, give the name of the internship company, the name of the department where you worked, the name of your supervisor, and the title of the position you held as an intern.  Provide information that will enable the CMIS Department Chair to contact the supervisor if there are questions about the completion of the internship.

Page 1:  Responsibilities and Tasks/Projects.  List (preferably in bullet format) the responsibilities and/or tasks and projects that you fulfilled or completed while working as an intern. 

Pages 2 through 6:  Lessons Learned.  Beginning with page 2, provide a narrative discussion of the lessons you learned while working as an intern.  Please provide your honest and succinct evaluation of the training you received at SIUE and whether or not the training assisted you in your job as an intern.  This provides the department feedback that may assist us in tailoring our instruction to meet industry demands.

The report is due on Friday, the week prior to final examinations.  The report must be submitted electronically through Blackboard.  Failure to submit the report will result in an incomplete in the course. Late reports must be sent as an e-mail attachment and will automatically result in a letter grade reduction in your grade for the internship course. 

Supervisor Evaluation: Remind your internship supervisor to submit the Internship Evaluation Form.  The evaluation form must be mailed by your supervisor in a sealed envelope with the company logo on the envelope.   The report must be signed by your internship supervisor and submitted in writing – electronic submissions are not acceptable.  The evaluation must arrive at the CMIS Department no later than Friday, the week prior to final examinations.  Mail reports to:

Computer Management and Information Systems Department Chair
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Campus Box 1106
Edwardsville, IL  62026-1106

Grading: Your grade is a function of your performance as an intern and your written report.  It is your responsibility to remind your internship supervisor from your intern company to complete an evaluation of your performance.  The evaluation must be signed and submitted in writing – electronic submissions are NOT acceptable.  The evaluation received from your internship supervisor where you complete your internship will constitute 60% of your grade.  Your written report will constitute the remaining 40% of your grade.  The grading scale is:  A-Outstanding work; B-Above average work; C-Average work; D-Below average work; E-Unacceptable work.

Incomplete Policy: Grades of Incomplete will not be given unless some act beyond your control takes place which materially affects your ability to complete the internship (e.g., severe illness, emotional trauma due to a death in the family, or accident).  You will receive a grade of Incomplete if you fail to submit the required report or if the required supervisory evaluation of your performance is not received by the CMIS Department Chair.

Graduate Level - CMIS 587 Information Systems Internship

General:  Enrollment in CMIS 587 requires you to have graduate status as a student in the MS in Computer Management and Information Systems program during the term in which the internship is to be completed.  The course is only open to graduate students.  The CMIS 587 internship may be taken for 3 hours of credit.  The course may not be repeated for additional internship credit. In order to complete 3 credit hours, you must complete at least 120 hours on the job as an intern with the company that is sponsoring your internship.

Internship Company:  It is most desirable for you to find an internship position as this is most likely to enable you to work in an area within the information systems field that interests you.  You may find positions advertised through the Career Development Center or you may find positions through advertisements or by other means.  The CMIS department will also assist you in finding internship positions, but they may not necessarily be positions that are of most interest to you.

Enrollment Requirements and Procedures:  CMIS 587 is credited as a CMIS elective within your program of study.  In order to enroll, you must complete the Internship Approval Letter (hyperlink to the letter is given below) and deliver it to the CMIS Graduate Program Director as evidence that you have identified a firm that is willing to sponsor the internship.  Enrollment will not be approved until the letter is received in hard-copy (no emails):

• CMIS 587 Syllabus
• Internship Approval Letter - Take this form to the supervisor at the firm where you will complete your internship - complete the form, have it signed, and return it to the professor responsible for CMIS 587—generally this will be the CMIS Graduate Program Director.
• Complete the Independent Study/Internship Enrollment Form (click the hyperlink to obtain a copy - or obtain a copy of the form from the Business Student Services Office).
• Deliver the signed Internship Approval Letter and the Independent Study/Internship enrollment form to the CMIS Graduate Program Director.   Enrollment will not be approved until the Internship Approval Letter is received in hard-copy (no emails).  If the CMIS Graduate Program Director is out of the office, leave both forms with the CMIS Department Secretary or student worker.  The CMIS Graduate Program Director will keep the Internship Approval Letter on file as evidence that you have identified a firm that is willing to sponsor the internship.   The Course Enrollment Form will be signed and returned to you.  If you dropped off the forms, you may pick them up at a later time.
• Go to the Business Student Services office with the signed Independent Study/Internship Enrollment Form and enroll in CMIS 587.

End of Term Evaluation:

• Internship Evaluation Form - Take this form to the supervisor at the firm where you have worked as an intern.  Ask the supervisor to complete the form and forward it to our office one week prior to final examination week.
• Submit the required paper as per the course syllabus.