Internship
Students opting to complete an internship for their exit requirement must enroll in the course COSI 293b - Computational Linguistics Research Internship. This involves registering for an individual section taught by one of the CL faculty—often James, Marie, or Bert. This faculty member will keep in contact with the student's supervisor at the company, and will determine and enter a grade for the student's performance at in the internship course accordingly. If there is no section of the course listed for the term in which you are completing it with the particular professor you'll use, contact Katie, Jane, or Lotus to have an additional section added with that professor.
The amount of time spent each week varies by company for a particular internship, but is usually about 15 to 20 hours per week.
The internship is considered finished—and thus the exit requirement satisfied—when, at the end of the term, the Brandeis instructor supervising the internship receives feedback from the supervisor at the company that the work was completed in a way that corresponds to the standard Brandeis passing grades for graduate students (i.e., of B- or better). The Brandeis instructor will keep in touch throughout the term with the supervisor at the company, so that the student will have a sense as the term proceeds that the work being done is indeed satisfactory.
Important Notes
Students are welcome and encouraged to undertake internships (with or without academic credit for the internship) prior to the point at which they are academically ready to satisfy the exit requirement. For international students who must get course credit in order to be involved in such an internship, the course COSI 293g - Master's Research Internship is typically used in this case. However, such cases would not count as satisfying the exit requirement for the degree (and, accordingly, students would not in these cases enroll in COSI 293b - Computational Linguistics Research Internship, which is used just to fulfill the exit requirement).
As mentioned above, international students who enroll in an internship on or off campus may be required to obtain Curricular Practical Training (CPT) authorization from the International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO) BEFORE beginning the internship. International students interested in completing an internship, whether for their exit requirement or just for elective credit, must email the ISSO to schedule an appointment (in-person or via phone) with their ISSO advisor to determine if such authorization is required. For more information regarding CPT, please visit the ISSO website.