.: Internship Preparation & Internship Reflection :.

.: SWE 301 & 401 :.

Spring 2023, occasional Fridays 12:00 noon-1:15 pm, East 122
Our remaining meetings will be held in ENGR 4201, the CS department conference room

Instructor: Dr. Jeff Offutt

Schedule Grading Assignments Course details Honor code

Contact information
web: https://cs.gmu.edu/~offutt/
email: offutt@gmu.edu
Office hours: Wednesdays 330-5pm Engr 4430, or by appointment



Schedule

This class will meet five times, plus a visit to the job fair. All dates tentative and to be confirmed.

  1. 3 February: Initial class meeting
  2. 17 February: Ann Garner from Mason’s Career Services. Topic: Prepping for the Job Fair.
  3. 22 February (Wednesday) 11am-4pm: Career services career fair. Dewberry Hall, Johnson Center lower level. Note that this is not during regular class time.
    You can sign up for the career fair on handshake.
  4. 24 February: Class meeting after Job Fair to discuss outcomes
    Due: Reports from 401 students
  5. 24 March: CANCELLED
    Professionalism, interviewing, teamwork, and leadership
    Topics: Interviewing from the other side, and What I wish I'd known in my first job
    Guest speakers TBD

    Handouts: Teams ... Team Rules (pptx) ... leadership (pptx)
  6. 28 April: Interviewing online and final business
    Due: Reports from 301 students.

Some advice

  1. 9 Qualities of Remarkably Confident People
  2. 6 Subtle Things Highly Productive People Do Every Day
  3. The “IT” in a “DO IT” Attitude
  4. Ten Rules For Losing
  5. Notes on Email Etiquette
  6. Ten things not to put in email
  7. Workplace communication mistakes


Grading

Both 301 & 401 are graded on a Satisfactory or No Credit scale.

The requirements for passing are closely modeled on what happens in the business world. In the business world, if you don’t do what you are required to do, when you are required to do it, you will soon need a new job.

In this class, participation is mandatory. The measure of your performance is not just what you learn from the class, but also what you contribute to the class. If you are not in the room, you can’t contribute. Participation is during the meetings and on piazza.

With that in mind, any one of the following will prevent you from passing this course:

  • Not being prepared to present your report at the scheduled time. This covers both the verbal and written parts of the report.
  • Not pursuing internship-search related activities appropriate for your circumstances. Required activities may vary from nothing, if you already have an appropriate internship, to carrying out the full range of activities appropriate to an internship search if you do not.
  • Absence from one class without prior permission of instructor. Permission is generally not granted except in specific circumstances. Examples of valid and invalid excuses will be discussed in our first meeting.
  • Being late for two classes without prior permission of instructor. Permission is generally not granted except in specific circumstances. Note that the class starts at noon. Entering the classroom at 12:01 pm IS LATE.
    When you go to work as an intern or new hire, you should be the first person into the room. Managers can be last. As I tell kids when I coach youth sports: Early is on time, on time is late.


Assignments

SWE 301 students will carry out several activities to help find an internship position and then be prepared to adapt your academic education to that position. SWE 401 students will relate your internship experiences back to your academic courses and share your experiences with the other students in the class.

SWE 301 assignment for the semester

SWE 401 assignment for the semester

You are also expected to participate in the ongoing discussion on piazza

Exams and quizzes

No exam and no quiz



Course details

Prerequisite

  • SWE 301: Junior standing
  • SWE 401: SWE 301 and completion of internship

The SWE 301 prerequisite for SWE 401 is strictly enforced. Students in their final semester of studies are not permitted to register for SWE 301 and SWE 401 simultaneously. Such students are directed to register for 301 only, and to see their advisor to substitute an additional senior-level SWE or CS class.

Catalog Description

SWE 301: (0 hours) Preparation for Internship Educational Experience. Intended for, but not limited to, students planning internships in the Applied Computer Science Program. Both 301 and 401 are required for students in the Software Engineering concentration. Basic interview skills. Techniques for applying academic knowledge to practical software development. Techniques for learning from practical industry experience. Peer presentation from students who have completed internships.

SWE 401: (1 hour) Reflection on Internship Educational Experience. Intended for, but not limited to, students planning internships in the Applied Computer Science Program. Both 301 and 401 are required for students in the Software Engineering concentration. Analysis of techniques for applying academic knowledge to practical software development. Analysis of techniques for extracting knowledge from practical experience. Student presentations summarizing internships relating them to academic program goals.

Note that these courses are intentionally colocated so that 401 students can mentor 301 students.

Learning Objectives

Students in SWE 301 & 401 will learn many aspects of professional behavior, including how to search for professional positions, how to handle interviews, how to conduct themselves in professional ways on the job, how to work as effective and cooperative team members, and how to effectively use an internship to learn and build professional skills. Students will also learn the basics of professional networking and leadership, and will be given the opportunity to help other students with the transition from university to professional life.

Note: SWE 301 is not “credit for an internship” and work experience, whether current or prior, cannot be used as a substitution for SWE 301 or SWE 401.

Course materials

Neither SWE 301 nor SWE 401 requires a textbook

Class meetings

This course only meets 6 times, not every week. Some required activities such as job fairs will fall outside the normal class hours. Student presentations will occur during the normally scheduled class hours. Attendance at all meetings are required to pass the course.



Honor code

All GMU courses and research carried out here is governed by the GMU Honor Code. More importantly, ethical behavior is essential for all engineers. If an engineer, whether software or otherwise, is discovered to have an ethical lapse, not only will that engineer lose the current job, but will find it difficult to obtain other jobs. Ethics and integrity protect ourselves and the users of our products.