×Students who hold an F-1 or J-1 visa, please be sure to review the ISS page with the most up-to-date information about employment during COVID-19.

Getting the opportunity to engage in an internship can be a vital part of your journey at UW. Many students find value in gaining first-hand experience working in a role where one can apply the knowledge and skills they gain from computing coursework to the “real world” outside of the classroom. Many internship and job opportunities are posted on the Allen School Career-Jobs Ed.Stem Board , as well as listed in Handshake. To learn more about how to find an internship, check out the career development page.

For inquiries about how to access the Ed.Stem Board, please contact Austin Browning at austinbr@cs.washington.edu

Overview Of CSE 301

Earning internship credit can help you intentionally reflect on your internship experience and your learning taking place outside of the classroom in real-time. The assignments and structure of the class are designed to help supplement and develop your workplace readiness skills, and will help you prepare to articulate your experience from the internship in future interviews! Additionally, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, and Computer Science-Data Science declared students are allowed to count up to two (2) credits earned from CSE 301 during their time in the Allen School towards their CS Senior Electives degree requirement. Additional credits earned from CSE 301 can count towards “free electives” to bring the total credits completed up to the 180 credits required to earn a B.S. degree.

    CSE 301 offers students the opportunity to explore and reflect on their internship experience to enhance their overall co-curricular experience. As a result of enrolling in CSE 301, you should increase proficiency in the following areas…

  • An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences.
  • An ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering and make informed judgments that consider the impact of solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.
  • An ability to recognize the ongoing need for additional knowledge and how to locate, evaluate, integrate, and apply this knowledge appropriately.
  • An ability to function effectively on teams that establish goals, plan tasks, meet deadlines, and analyze risk + uncertainty.
  • Ways to collaborate in order to inspire and manage change.
  • Understanding office dynamics

    Some students will increase proficiency if the assigned duties of the internship provide the appropriate opportunities:

  • Ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as analyze and interpret data.
  • Ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams.
  • Knowledge of contemporary issues.
  • Ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems.

CSE 301 is graded as credit/no credit (CR / NC). To obtain full credit, the student must submit all required assignments via Handshake & Canvas ~AND~ earn 70% or higher on each assignment. Late work will not be accepted unless previously arranged with the course facilitator via e-mail. Students have the responsibility to know and observe UW’s Student Conduct Codeand section on Academic Responsibility

    Student Evaluations
  • Students will complete a pre-internship and post-internship evaluation of their skills and abilities via the Handshake Experience platform. The pre-survey is completed when a Handshake Experience is submitted, and the post-survey is emailed to the student near the end of the internship experience.
  • Contact the course coordinator if you have not received your final evaluation via Handshake within the final 2 weeks of the quarter.

    Internship Report
  • After completing the internship experience, students complete a final report and reflection about their experience and submit it to the Canvas Internship Report assignment page.

    Update MyCSE account
  • Students should add their internship information (including job duties) to their profile on MyCSE. Click on the “Undergraduate” tab to make edits to your work history.
  • To complete the assignment, take a screenshot of the updated profile and upload to the Canvas MyCSE assignment page.

    Update Resume
  • Students should submit a PDF of an updated resume, including details about the most recent internship worked to earn credit for CSE 301 to the Canvas Updated Resume assignment page.

    Check out the below FAQs to see if one of your questions is answered there. If not, please contact the course facilitator in one of the following ways:

  • Post a question on the CSE 301 Ed.stem thread, part of the Allen School Undergraduate Career-Jobs board
  • Email cse301@cs.washington.edu

CSE 301 Enrollment Timeline

Quarter your
internship takes place		 CSE 301 requests
begin to be processed		 Priority request
deadline*		 Final request
deadline*
Spring 20212/28/213/25/214/2/21
Summer 20212/22/216/14/216/25/21
Autumn 20218/2/219/22/2110/4/21
Winter 202211/8/2112/27/211/7/22

  • The quarter in which your internship dates fall into. If your internship start/end dates span multiple quarters, see FAQ below.
  • Internships that take place during Summer quarter (vacation quarter) will be automatically deferred for credit until the following Autumn quarter unless otherwise noted on the Handshake Experience request. For example, if a student submits a Summer 2021 Handshake request (domestic or international student) with no additional notes, the course facilitator will approve the experience prior to the start of the internship, but the student will not be given an add code to register for CSE 301 until registration for Autumn quarter is available. If the student would like to enroll in CSE 301 during the summer quarter, please make a note on the Handshake Experience request indicating that.

  • Students are encouraged to submit a Handshake Experience request (and CPT request, if applicable) forms as soon as they would like to. However, the course facilitator may not respond to the request or begin processing requests until the date listed in this column.

  • Follow the instructions under “Course Logistics & Enrollment Process” below, including submitting a Handshake Experience (and CPT request if applicable) to ensure you will get an add-code for CSE 301 by the start of the quarter you plan to register for. Requests submitted after this deadline (by the Final request deadline) will be processed, but may not receive an add-code by the start of the quarter.
  • *ISS requires at least 3 weeks (15 business days) prior to the start of an internship to complete the CPT approval process AFTER they receive the departmental CPT approver’s completed form. To ensure sufficient processing time, please submit the CPT request ASAP, but no later than 4 weeks before the start of your internship.

  • Follow the instructions under “Course Logistics & Enrollment Process” below, including submitting a Handshake Experience (and CPT request if applicable) to ensure you will be able to earn credit for your internship experience. If you do not submit a request by this deadline, you will not receive credit for your internship, unless there is an extenuating circumstance outside of your control. For questions about the final deadline, please email cse301@cs.washington.edu for further assistance.
  • *ISS requires at least 3 weeks (15 business days) prior to the start of an internship to complete the CPT approval process AFTER they receive the departmental CPT approver’s completed form. To ensure sufficient processing time, please submit the CPT request ASAP, but no later than 4 weeks before the start of your internship.
  • Students who work fewer than 20 hrs/wk on average in their internship are eligible to earn one (1) credit of CSE 301 per quarter of work. Students who work more than 20 hrs/wk on average in their internship are eligible to earn up to two (2) credits of CSE 301 per quarter of work.
  • Computer Science and Computer Engineering majors may use up to 2 credits of CSE 301 earned towards their CSE Senior Electives requirement for a maximum of 2 credits. Additional credits will apply to free electives towards the Bachelor’s degree requirement of 180 credits (up to 12 credits maximum).
  • Students have two different options to enroll in CSE 301:
    1. Enroll in CSE 301 during the same quarter that you work your internship. This is most common for students who work in an internship during the academic year (not during a vacation quarter/summer quarter)
      -or-
    2. Enroll in CSE 301 in the quarter following the quarter you work your internship This is most common during the summer quarter/vacation quarter. This option allows you to work an internship during the Summer quarter but enroll in CSE 301 during Autumn quarter to earn credit for the work you completed during the Summer quarter.

  • If your internship is during the summer quarter, the course facilitator will assume you want to defer your enrollment in CSE 301 to Autumn quarter, unless otherwise specified by you in an email to cse301@cs.washinton.edu, or by making a note on your Handshake Overview page.
To request to be enrolled in CSE 301:
  1. Accept an offer for an internship position that is related to computer science.
  2. Submit a Handshake Experience request including all information requested (accept date, start/end date, work address, upload your offer letter etc.)
    1. International students on an F-1 visa submit a CPT request, and list Austin Browning ( austinbr@uw.edu ) as the departmental CPT approver
  3. Refer to the table above for expected response times and monitor your @uw.edu email account for correspondence from Handshake.
  4. Once your experience is approved, the course facilitator will comment on your Experience in Handshake with next steps, including when to expect an add code to register for CSE 301.
    1. Note: If you are deferring your enrollment in CSE 301, please note that you will be asked to complete the pre-internship survey and post-internship surveys generated from Handshake during the quarter you work your internship. During the quarter you are enrolled in CSE 301, you will have access to the course Canvas page where you can submit all remaining assignments.
  • The pre-internship survey is completed when you submit your Handshake Experience request for CSE 301
  • The post-internship survey is automatically sent to you a few weeks before your internship ends via Handshake (sometimes ends up in spam/junk mail)
  • All other assignments are due at the end of the quarter you are registered for CSE 301, as specified by the syllabus on the course Canvas page. For example, if you are working a summer internship, but deferring your enrollment in CSE 301 until Autumn quarter, then all assignments besides the post-internship survey will be completed during Autumn quarter.

Fee Structure

ENGR 321 through the College of Engineering’s Internship Program and CSE 301 operate under a different fee structure where CSE 301 is a standard tuition rate while ENGR 321 is fee-based.

Type Work Quarter Register for Fee
Domestic Part‑time Academic Year CSE 301 (1 credit) Standard Tuition Rates Apply; Deferred Registration
Domestic Full‑time Summer CSE 301 (2 credits) Standard Tuition Rates Apply; Deferred Registration
Domestic Part‑time Summer ENGR 321 (1 credit) $196
International Full‑time Summer CSE 301 (2 credits) Standard Tuition Rates Apply; Deferred Registration
International Full‑time Acadmic Year ENGR 321 (2 credits, full-time status) $392
International Part‑time Acadmic Year CSE 301 (1 credit) Standard Tuition Rates Apply; Deferred Registration

* academic year indicates autumn, winter, spring. summer is a vacation quarter. Austin Browning (austinbr@uw.edu) should be listed as Department Adviser and CPT approver for F-1 visa students. J-1 students contact CSE301 by email for work authorization instructions.

Standard tuition rates can be estimated using the Undergraduate Tuition Dashboard.

CSE 301 FAQs

Where and when do I get an add code for CSE 301?

Follow the instructions under “Course Logistics & Enrollment Process” above, including submitting a Handshake Experience (and CPT request if applicable). Next, refer to the Enrollment Table above to see anticipated processing times. As long as you submit your Handshake Experience request by the “Priority Registration” deadline, you will receive an add code via the Handshake Experience overview page by the start of the quarter you will be registered for CSE 301.

What does deferred registration mean?

Students who work an internship during Summer quarter can defer their CSE 301 credits to the following Autumn quarter. This means that a student can work the internship during Summer, but doesn't have to register for the credits in Summer term, and therefore not pay extra tuition if they weren't planning to register for additional courses until Autumn quarter. This is the assumed way that summer internship requests for CSE 301 are processed, unless otherwise requested.

I submitted my CPT request and Handshake Experience request, now what?

  • Refer to the Enrollment Table above for expected response times. While students are able to and are encouraged to submit a Handshake Experience request and CPT request as soon as possible, the course facilitator may not respond right away.
  • For example, if you accept an internship offer in October and submit your requests in October, but don’t begin working until the following June (Summer quarter), the course facilitator may not start responding to requests until late February. Please note that ISS asks for at least 3 weeks (15 business days) to process the CPT request AFTER receiving the departmental approver’s portion of the CPT request.

Does my internship have to be paid to earn credit?

No. Your internship must be related to computer science skills and knowledge gained from relevant computing coursework.

What’s the difference between CSE 301 and ENGR 320/321?

Both CSE 301 and ENGR 320/321 are available to students within the Allen School to earn credit for a computer science-related internship. Depending on your enrollment status (full-time vs. part-time), student type (international vs. domestic), and when your internship takes place (summer/vacation quarter vs. academic year), one course may be recommended over the other. Refer to the enrollment table and the fee structure sections above for additional information.

Do I have to earn credit if I have an internship?

International students on an F-1 visa who apply for Curricular Practical Training (CPT) are required to earn credit during their internship experience, whereas domestic students who do not require CPT to be authorized to work in the U.S. do not have a requirement to earn credit for internship experience. For reasons why you may want to consider earning credit for your internship, see “Why take CSE 301?” above.

Can I enroll in CSE 301 if I am not an Allen School student?

No. CSE 301 is only available for current Computer Science and Computer Engineering students enrolled in the Allen School. If you would like to earn credit for an internship, connect with a departmental academic adviser to learn more about opportunities in your department, or GENST: 350.

Can I earn credit for an internship I previously completed?

No. The goal of CSE 301 is to enhance students’ learning and reflection during the internship as a co-curricular experience. Therefore, students are not allowed to enroll in the course after their internship experience has completed, unless the student is deferring their internship credit with the permission of the course facilitator, or unless there is an extenuating circumstance. For more information and questions about a specific situation, please contact cse301@cs.washington.edu for further support.

No. CSE 301 is only available for current Computer Science and Computer Engineering students enrolled in the Allen School. If you would like to earn credit for an internship, connect with a departmental academic adviser to learn more about opportunities in your department, or GENST: 350.

What quarter do I register for if my internship dates cover multiple quarters?

  • Domestic students
      For each quarter you work, you are eligible to enroll in CSE 301 and earn up to 2 credits. For example, if your full-time internship starts 2 weeks before Spring quarter ends, and ends after Summer quarter, you would be eligible to register for CSE 301 credits in both Spring and Summer quarter (with the option to defer the Summer quarter credits to Autumn if desired).
  • International students on F-1 visa
      • In order to qualify for CPT, you must be enrolled in a course, and must earn credit for your internship, among other eligibility requirements. Therefore, even if your internship starts 1 day before the end of a quarter, you must be enrolled in CSE 301, ENGR 320/321, or another internship course to be eligible for CPT during that quarter. For example, if your internship starts on 6/7/21 (Spring quarter ends 6/11/21) and ends on 9/20/21 (before the start of Autumn quarter 9/29/21), you must be enrolled during Spring quarter in at least 1 credit of CSE 301, ENGR 320/321, or another internship class. In addition, you need to earn credit for your internship work completed over Summer quarter, but because Summer is a vacation quarter, you are eligible to defer registration in CSE 301 until the following Autumn quarter.

Do I need to get health insurance through my internship company?

All students are advised to have health insurance at all times. International students are REQUIRED to maintain health insurance. Domestic students can learn more about health insurance options here, and International students can learn more about the International Student Health Insurance Program, or ISHIP here.