Serve IT offers students the opportunity to use credit hours to put the skills they are learning in school into action with real clients from the local nonprofit community. Students are placed in teams according to interest and skill, and can return semester after semester, building a portfolio that demonstrates both skill and civic-mindedness through service. In addition to the specific skills involved in each real-world project, students develop skills that include professional communications, client, project, and team management—all very difficult to teach in a traditional classroom. If you like working, making things, and making a positive change for your community, you will love working with Serve IT.
Undergraduate Internships with Serve IT
Interns work within the community to teach kids technology skills (bottom left), and present their projects at our formal end-of-semester event (top and bottom right).
Build your resume and work with great students
Gain real-world experience!
Apply Now
Our projects are created with and for nonprofit and governmental clients, following a Service-Learning approach that uses industry standards and best practices. These real-world projects offer both complexity and specificity, making them fertile ground for our junior technology consultants, who will each have a chance to manage a project, a team, and a client.Learn more about our Teams.
How to Apply
Students apply through the link on the link on this page, during the semester before you expect to take the course. Students will be notified by email and given permission to sign up for the course. Applicants who don't make it the first semester are encouraged to apply in future semesters.
Application postings and deadlines:
- For fall applications:
- Posted in January, deadlines in late March
- For spring applications:
- Posted in August, deadlines in early November
Capstone Through Serve IT
Informatics students can do their Capstone through Serve IT if they have first taken at least three credits of INFO I389 in the clinic and performed well. Capstone interns lead teams, manage client relationships (on certain teams), and attend additional leadership meetings and training. Each team is guided by a graduate student who coaches them through the process.
Serve IT Courses
Like other internships in Luddy, Serve IT requires 60 hours per credit hour. Credit hour expectations vary according to the course taken with us:
- INFO I389 (choose between 1-3 credit hours.)
- INFO I489 for Capstone credit (6 total credit hours) (pre-requisite: 3 hours of I389)
- CSCI Y390
- SPEA V381 Undergraduate internship credit
- SPEA V585 Graduate internship credit
1-3credit hours interns may choose
3credits taken prior to be eligible for capstone
60hours of work per credit hour
The most valuable experience that I had in Serve IT is the leadership experience. Even though I had countless team based assignments throughout my college years, there were only very few times where I could experience leadership.
-Undergraduate Student Intern
FAQ
Serve IT provides an experiential learning opportunity for students, allowing them to return numerous semesters under numerous course numbers and participate in ever-increasing levels of mentorship and leadership. Technology projects are developed for and with a nonprofit client, based on a Service-Learning model, and using industry standards and best practices.Q: How do the credits work for the classes?
A: INFO I389
pre-req for INFO I489
3 total credits, take 1-3 cr per semester
can take as few as one credit!
INFO I489 (INFORMATICS CAPSTONE)
3 credits per semester
6 total credits required
CS Y390 (CS Indep Study)
1-3 credits per semester
Can take up to 6 total credits of Y390
Q: Can I participate in Serve IT even if I am not sure I want to do Capstone later?
A: Yes, absolutely! Students can do as few as 1 credits of I389, but as many as 6 total credits.
Q: How can I complete Capstone with Serve IT?
A: First, apply for INFO I389 with us, then follow through and do a good job and we will get you set up for the next steps during your participating semesters. Returning students who do well with us are prioritized for the next semester.
Q: Should I wait until my Junior or Senior year to apply?
A: No, we welcome students as young as freshmen in their 2nd semester.
Q: How is Serve IT similar to an internship in a company?
A: Like an internship in a company, you must apply to get in, and collaboration is expected. Attendance is critical and counts for a lot. You will log your time, be expected to work 60 hours per credit hour, and participate in evaluations. Mentors abound. Our goal is for every student to eventually work with a client.
Q: How is Serve IT similar to a course?
A: You will receive a grade, complete assignments and trainings and be working with students. Each team is coached by a graduate student and industry mentor.
Q: Do all semesters need to be consecutive?
A: No, you can return in future semesters if you have a heavy load or plans for study abroad, etc. This includes Capstone, if students need to split up the capstone course between other experiences.
Q: How is Capstone different from the INFO I389 version of Serve IT?
A: Capstone students lead and co-lead the teams. They are guided by a different set of assignments and coached by graduate student supervisors.
