MET Extended Internship Program

Internship plans for students in the MET program

The Mechanical Engineering Technology (MET) program promotes several informal internship plans for interested students.

Level 1: Simple Internship Plan

At any time during your academic career, a student may participate in a summer internship experience at any location, worldwide. The value of this simple internship is not only summer pay, but also valuable, practical experience which builds the strength of your resume. Normally, no college credit is associated with the simple internship plans. Internship job leads are passed to students through the Penn State Behrend Career Services, Nittany Lion Careers, and are often found at the College's Career Fairs each year.

Level 2: Extended Internship Plan

Students pursuing this extended internship program are responsible for finding the internship employment. Since many students try to work too many hours while carrying full academic loads, the extended internship provides the student with a reduced course load and valuable work experience while earning funds to apply toward their schooling expenses. The extended internship program offers an excellent alternative to balance these demands while allowing for maximum academic achievement. MET advisers help the students plan their class schedules to accommodate part-time employment during the academic year. Students who pursue the informal extended internship should consider the following:

Take 12-14 credits per semester; this extended your academic progress by one additional semester
Work 12-18 hours per week during five semesters for an Erie area company
Work three summers, full-time for the company

Companies view the internship program as a valuable opportunity to acquaint themselves with potential full-time engineering position candidates. The Penn State Behrend MET faculty strongly urge you to consider the extended internship program. If you have questions contact Mr. Shannon Sweeney at 814-898-6049.

Scheduling Your Internship

Summer: Full-time Internship at Local Company

Fall Semester, Junior Year

CHEM 110, CHEM 111 -or- PHYS 251: Chemistry + Lab -or- Physics-2 w/lab
MET 320: Adv. Strength of Materials
MET 330: Thermodynamics
MATH 211: Intermed. Calc and Diff. Equations w. Appl.

Credits: 13

Spring Semester, Junior Year

ENGL 202C: Technical Writing
MET 306: Computer-Aided Design
MET 331W: Heat Transfer
MET 415: Finite Element Analysis, Applications I

Credits: 13

Summer: Full-time Internship at Company

Fall Semester, Senior Year

MET 432: Fluid Power
MET 425: Finite Element Analysis, Applications II
MET 470: Materials Engineering
MET 341: Measurements
BB H/KINES: Select from University List

Credits: 13.5

Spring Semester, Senior Year

MANGT 409: Proj. Management for Engineers
S/H/A Elective: Select from Gen Ed List
Technical Elective: Select from School Approved List
S/H/A Elective: Select from Gen Ed List

Credits: 12

Summer: Full-time internship at company, plus MET 495 formal internship (3 credits), includes summer tuition expense.

See course requirements for MET 495 below (under Level 3 - Senior Summer Internship for Credit)

Fifth Semester, Fifth Year

MET 480: Senior Capstone
S/H/A Elective: Select from Gen Ed List
Technical Elective: Select from School Approved List
S/H/A Elective: Select from Gen Ed List
BB H/KINES: Select from University List

Credits: 11.5