research-article

Understanding CS Undergraduate Students' Professional Development through the Lens of Internship Experiences

Authors:

Amanpreet Kapoor,

Christina Gardner-McCuneAuthors Info & Claims

SIGCSE '19: Proceedings of the 50th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education

Pages 852 - 858

https://doi.org/10.1145/3287324.3287408

Published: 22 February 2019 Publication History

Abstract

Professional development is critical for preparing undergraduate CS students for their future careers. Industry internships offer students pathways for professional development. However, little is empirically known about the impact industry-based internships have on CS students' career paths as well as the effectiveness of CS degree programs in preparing students for these professional development opportunities. In this paper, we present a thematic analysis of open-ended survey responses of 40 CS undergraduate students in the US who participated in an internship. This study aimed to understand the impact that professional internships have on: CS students' career goals, students' perceptions of the gaps between academia and industry, and students' strategies for professional success. We found four themes that describe the impact of internships on CS students. Internships (1) strengthened students' commitment to CS degrees and careers; (2) encouraged exploration of CS careers and industries; (3) promoted personal/professional growth; and (4) developed awareness of professional expectations. We also analyzed students' perception of the curriculum's effectiveness and found that students were strategically working to improve their technical skills outside of coursework to secure employment. These findings have the potential to retain students in computing and reduce the gaps between academia and industry, thereby increasing CS students' competitiveness in the workforce.

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Cited By

Arunachalam NLunn SThapaliya ANarasimhan GLiu JWeiss MStone JYuen TShoop LRebelsky SPrather J(2025)Crafting Opportunities: Establishing a Micro-Internship Program for Computing StudentsProceedings of the 56th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V. 210.1145/3641555.3705153(1365-1366)Online publication date: 18-Feb-2025
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3641555.3705153
Popoola SKunapareddi VSaid H(2025)Developing and sustaining a student-driven software solutions center—An experience reportJournal of Systems and Software10.1016/j.jss.2024.112279220(112279)Online publication date: Feb-2025
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2024.112279
Santhosh MSiby NSellami ABhadra JAhmad Z(2024)Enriching computing identity frameworks: integrating current constructs and unveiling new dimensions for today’s tech-savvy world—a systematic reviewFrontiers in Education10.3389/feduc.2024.13669069Online publication date: 16-Sep-2024
https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1366906
Show More Cited By

Index Terms

Understanding CS Undergraduate Students' Professional Development through the Lens of Internship Experiences
1. Social and professional topics
  1. Professional topics
    1. Computing education
      1. Informal education
    2. Computing profession
      1. Employment issues

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cover image ACM Conferences

SIGCSE '19: Proceedings of the 50th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education

February 2019

1364 pages

ISBN:9781450358903

DOI:10.1145/3287324

General Chairs:
Elizabeth K. Hawthorne
Union County College, USA
,
Manuel A. Pérez-Quiñones
University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA
,
Program Chairs:
Sarah Heckman
North Carolina State University, USA
,
Jian Zhang
Texas Woman's University, USA

Copyright © 2019 ACM.

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SIGCSE: ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education

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Published: 22 February 2019

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SIGCSE '19

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SIGCSE '19: The 50th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education

February 27 - March 2, 2019

MN, Minneapolis, USA

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SIGCSE '19 Paper Acceptance Rate 169 of 526 submissions, 32%;

Overall Acceptance Rate 1,787 of 5,146 submissions, 35%

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The 56th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education

February 26 - March 1, 2025

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Cited By

Arunachalam NLunn SThapaliya ANarasimhan GLiu JWeiss MStone JYuen TShoop LRebelsky SPrather J(2025)Crafting Opportunities: Establishing a Micro-Internship Program for Computing StudentsProceedings of the 56th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V. 210.1145/3641555.3705153(1365-1366)Online publication date: 18-Feb-2025
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3641555.3705153
Popoola SKunapareddi VSaid H(2025)Developing and sustaining a student-driven software solutions center—An experience reportJournal of Systems and Software10.1016/j.jss.2024.112279220(112279)Online publication date: Feb-2025
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2024.112279
Santhosh MSiby NSellami ABhadra JAhmad Z(2024)Enriching computing identity frameworks: integrating current constructs and unveiling new dimensions for today’s tech-savvy world—a systematic reviewFrontiers in Education10.3389/feduc.2024.13669069Online publication date: 16-Sep-2024
https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1366906
Herbert NHerbert DGray T(2024)Navigating the IT Skills Gap: Cultivating Job-Ready GraduatesProceedings of the 26th Australasian Computing Education Conference10.1145/3636243.3636251(68-76)Online publication date: 29-Jan-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3636243.3636251
Kramarczuk KAtchison KHilliard MPlane JBond SRudy CWeintrop DStephenson BStone JBattestilli LRebelsky SShoop L(2024)Micro-internships and Career Focused Programs as Mechanisms for Diversifying ComputingProceedings of the 55th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V. 110.1145/3626252.3630892(694-700)Online publication date: 7-Mar-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3626252.3630892
Arunachalam NLunn SWeiss MLiu JNarasimhan GStephenson BStone JBattestilli LRebelsky SShoop L(2024)Foot in the Door: Developing Opportunities for Computing Undergraduates to Gain Industry ExperienceProceedings of the 55th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V. 110.1145/3626252.3630857(74-80)Online publication date: 7-Mar-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3626252.3630857

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