Internships and Co-ops

How to Find Student Interns and Co-ops

Internship and co-op opportunities can be posted through UB Career Services job portal, Bullseye. Students can search for opportunities and apply in Bullseye or through your company's submission site.

Questions about hosting/developing a UB SEAS internship or co-op can be directed to Melinda Somerville, Experiential Learning Business Development Assistant.

See tips and timeline for hiring interns
Student talks to a company at a career event.

Co-op Timing

Zoom image: Chart visually displaying co-op timing. See descriptions below. Chart visually displaying co-op timing. See descriptions below.

Aerospace Engineering

Beginning with the Fall 2016 freshmen class, ideal timing for a co-op starts the summer after junior year and should continue for the entire senior year due to pre-requisite course requirements.

Chart showing aerospace timing.

Biomedical Engineering

Beginning with the Fall 2016 freshmen class, ideal timing for a co-op starts the summer after junior year and should continue for the entire senior year due to pre-requisite course requirements.

chart showing biomedical timing.

Chemical and Biological Engineering

Two options are available for scheduling a co-op. Students may begin the co-op in Spring of the junior year and continue through the summer, or they may begin that summer and continue through the Fall of the senior year. In both cases, a specific course is indicated to be taken on-line during one of the co-op semesters to ensure pre-requisites are met for courses taken upon return from the co-op. The student can then complete the degree with just one additional semester after the 4th year.

Option 1

Chart showing CBE option 1 timing.

Option 2

Chart showing CBE option 2 timing.

Computer Science

Beginning with the Fall 2017 freshmen class, ideal timing for a co-op is the summer after junior year, continuing through the Fall semester of senior year. Degree completion would occur in Fall of the 5th year.

Chart showing Computer Science timing.

Computer Engineering

Beginning with the Fall 2017 freshmen class, ideal timing for a co-op is the summer after sophomore year, continuing through the Fall semester of junior year. Degree completion would occur in Fall of the 5th year.

Chart showing Computer Engineering timing.

Civil/Structural Engineering

Beginning with the Fall 2016 freshmen class, ideal timing for a co-op starts the summer after junior year and should continue for the entire senior year due to pre-requisite course requirements.

Chart showing Civil/Structural Engineering timing.

Environmental Engineering

Beginning with the Fall 2016 freshmen class, ideal timing for a co-op starts the summer after junior year and should continue for the entire senior year due to pre-requisite course requirements.

Chart showing environmental engineering timing.

Electrical Engineering

Beginning with the Fall 2016 freshmen class, ideal timing for a co-op is the summer after junior year, continuing through the Fall semester of senior year. With proper planning and extra course work in Spring of senior year, it is possible for degree completion in four years (with Fall of the 5th year as a worst case scenario). Please consult the EE Academic Coordinator for details regarding required courses EE408 and EE478.

Chart showing Electrical Engineering timing.

Mechanical Engineering

Beginning with the Fall 2016 freshmen class, ideal timing for a co-op is the summer after junior year, continuing through the Fall semester of senior year. Degree completion would occur in Fall of the 5th year by taking MAE 451 and 494 concurrently.

Chart showing mechanical engineering timing.

SPIR Intern Development Program

SPIR (Strategic Partnerships for Industrial Resurgence) is a SUNY grant program to support university-industrial engagement that enables growth and innovation. The SPIR Intern Development Program (IDP) is intended to support companies hiring summer interns to develop new or grow existing areas of their business by subsidizing the onboarding phase of the internship. Further, the program seeks to assist firms in establishing sustainable internship programs.

The SPIR Interns program places up to two students in a WNY company for up to 100 hours during the Spring semester. Student hours should not exceed 12.5 hours per week during the IDP period. 

Program Goals

The goal of the program is two-fold:

  1. It provides an onboarding period during which time the intern becomes familiar with the company (products and services, value proposition, people, facilities, etc.) and to go through the onboarding procedures and training typical for new employees (safety training, paperwork, software training, etc.).
  2. It provides a structured approach and time for the student and employer to collaboratively develop a plan for a summer internship (i.e., project(s) to be worked on, general roles and responsibilities).

The program is motivated by companies who have expressed interest in hiring UB Engineering and Applied Sciences interns, but have acknowledged difficulty establishing a return-on-investment to justify the resources required in hiring and training. Through this program, student interns will be ready to “hit the ground running” on the first day of the internship period. Note, this program is designed to be flexible, allowing the IDP phase to occur in as little as eight weeks, which provides opportunity for the internship period to start during the Spring semester.

Find out more about the SPIR program