All CAOUC students are required to complete an internship in a CAOUC-related field. Internships can be part-time or full-time and paid or unpaid. Internships enable students to apply what was learned in the classroom to a dynamic, real-world technical situation. To receive credit for the internship, students complete the one-credit IST 495 course and must complete at least 300 hours of supervised employment.
In the senior capstone course, students work collaboratively in teams. Each team is given a significant real-world problem or issue in which information technology is part of the solution. Teams will be expected to manage the project effectively and to communicate its results clearly to a variety of audiences within an organization.
CAOUC students have the opportunity to conduct research with faculty members. Working one-on-one with a faculty member or as part of a supervised research team, students investigate important issues related to their academic interests. Students gain valuable experience to include on their resumes or graduate school applications, make professional contacts, and have even earned co-authorship on scholarly publications and conference presentations.