<p>Hi all! My son is interested in Computer Science and right now UA looks very attractive. My one concern in looking at Alabama over some other places like RIT is whether they will be able to support his interest in the entertainment side of CS. Does UA have established co-ops with places like Disney or Time Warner entertainment or any of the gaming companies? It would appear that they are more focused on utilities and the like.</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>From the existing co-op list it does not appear so. My son is a CS major and has friends out on some interesting co-ops, but none in the fields you spoke of.
I do know if your son can engineer his own co-op opportunity CS will willingly work with him to have that qualify. They have been more than helpful with any issues my son has encountered.</p>
<p>If he is interested in gaming, I know that some of the businesses in Huntsville create simulation games for the military. They hire those that traditionally go into the “gaming” industry, both in the CS field and the Art field, and they are a little bit more stable than the traditional gaming companies.</p>
<p>On a side note, it seems that there are more and more students interested in entering the gaming industry and have chosen UA. I can only wonder if they were to pull together and work with the university if they would be able to get a program started that would meet their plans better. My D also wants to go into the gaming industry.</p>
<p>^ I agree, I do think part of the issue hampering this is the total lack of communication/coordination between the respective colleges (A&S and Eng.)</p>
<p>Found this just the other day -
[Engineering</a> Plus - Undergraduate Students - The College of Engineering - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://eng.ua.edu/undergraduate/engineering-plus/]Engineering”>http://eng.ua.edu/undergraduate/engineering-plus/)</p>
<p>Of course my CS son was totally unaware of any program being developed.</p>
<p>My son will be studying cs but I think we are hoping he can do summer internships instead of alternating term co-ops. That being said…he would probably be fine with co-op if the CS program was set up to coordinate with alternating terms…anyone know any more about this?</p>
<p>Momom…</p>
<p>Are you really asking about summer internships rather than co-ops which alternate semesters and take kids longer to graduate?</p>
<p>The person to contact is:</p>
<p>David Cordes, PhD
<a href=“mailto:cordes@cs.ua.edu”>cordes@cs.ua.edu</a>
Professor and Department Head, Department of Computer Science
Director, Freshman Engineering Program
205-348-6363</p>
<p>My understanding, and one of the things I like about their program, is that there is a co-op program in place. Internships are good, too, but the co-ops are what I was looking for.</p>
<p>Thanks AL34, I think the creative endeavors+ program sounds a LOT like what he would like to do, particularly the graphic novels, videos and animation.</p>
<p>Good. I feel better about it now. :o)</p>
<p>Thanks all for such informative and prompt responses.</p>
<p>Can you clarify…what is the co-op that you’re asking about? Is it one where a student leaves school for a semester and works and then returns…and so forth?</p>
<p>Anyway…contact Dr. Cordes about this and any other co-op/internship concerns. He would know. Sometimes there are opportunities that we don’t know about that do exist. We wouldn’t want to say “no” about something only to find out it is available or is “in the works” to be available. </p>
<p>Dr. Cordes is very nice and very “people oriented” so he will respond with a thorough answer. He’s not the type to blow off a question. :)</p>
<p>Thanks again mom2ck! Your responses are always so informative and helpful. We are planning a spring break trip and I am compiling questions to ask when we get there. Adding the co-op question to the list!</p>
<p>Glad to hear that you’re visiting in the Spring. However, I would still strongly suggest sending an email now to Dr. Cordes in regards to your co-op questions.</p>
<p>Momom2 -
While I hope the Engineering + program ends up being something great, please realize that even within the department my CS son has not heard a thing about this, and he is in regular contact with his advisor who is well aware that he is dual degree Studio Art/Comp. Sci. and this is what he’s been striving for since the start.
Point is while this may be something they’re working on if it’s ready to go they sure haven’t told the students yet.
If you as a prospective find out more about the program please let us know here so BamaMomof3 and I can make sure we’re on board.</p>
<p>Bumping this…
…because I am curious about what help/resource is given to UA students to find internships. I am getting conflicting info from variety of sources, so want anyone to post their experiences w/ internships, esp in the engineering fields. These would be summer internships only, not co-ops (where multiple semesters are taken off). (Respectfully, please do not direct me to the co-op office…that was a complete waste of our time, IMO…)</p>
<p>Mechanical engineering son is also interested in summer internships. We have no industry in our geographic area (other than a power company and the oil industry), and we are really hoping son can get some guidance at UA about obtaining summer internships.</p>
<p>We are not interested in co-ops, as son is looking at grad school, and does not want to add more time to his undergrad tenure.</p>
<p>Any help would be appreciated here, too, so please post on the forum so we can all be informed!</p>
<p>There are different summer opportunites available:</p>
<p>1) working at one of the many high-tech companies…there should be a job fair around this time at Bama for these summer positions. And, also one for graduating seniors for full time positions. I’ll look for the links.</p>
<p>2) working for the Redstone Arsenal for various engineering and CS positions. (this pays pretty well…older son did this for 3 summers). the app usually goes live within a month or so, and is due by about Easter timeframe.</p>
<p>3) REUs…these are GREAT! They provide housing, stipends, and travel money. Apps are due soon.</p>
<p>REUs - Research Experience for Undergraduates are available in all STEM majors. Both of my kids have done these…awesome. </p>
<p>[US</a> NSF - REU - List Result](<a href=“Search Results for REU Sites | NSF - National Science Foundation”>REU Sites | NSF - National Science Foundation)</p>
<p>^^^Kids apply to any that fit them…no matter what university is listed. The univs aren’t supposed to give priority to THEIR students. Since the NSF pays for these, schools are supposed to consider all eligible students. The ones that my kids did had students from everywhere.</p>
<p>Other research opps by discipline:
[Undergraduate</a> Research - Research - The College of Engineering - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://eng.ua.edu/research/undergraduate/]Undergraduate”>Undergraduate Admissions – College of Engineering | The University of Alabama)</p>
<p>[Research</a> by Department - Research - The College of Engineering - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://eng.ua.edu/research/department/]Research”>http://eng.ua.edu/research/department/)</p>
<p>co-op website:
[Cooperative</a> Education at The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://coop.eng.ua.edu/]Cooperative”>http://coop.eng.ua.edu/)</p>
<p>[About</a> the College - The College of Engineering - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://eng.ua.edu/about/]About”>About – College of Engineering | The University of Alabama)</p>
<p>CoE Strategic Plan for 2010-2020 (Nice rendering of the Science and Engineering Complex)
<a href=“http://eng.ua.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/COE-Strategic-Plan-Web-Version.pdf[/url]”>http://eng.ua.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/COE-Strategic-Plan-Web-Version.pdf</a></p>
<p>For summer internships, how do students handle housing? I’ve heard of Redstone Arsenal. Isn’t that in Huntsville? Are students able to live at University of Alabama Huntsville in the dorms if they secure summer jobs at Redstone, or any other company in Huntsville? Are companies within walking distance of UAH dorms, or is there public transportation available?</p>
<p>Ok, I should clarify, even tho this thread is about CS-CO-ops, I am really interested in knowing who to contact about other internships for other branches of engineering: mechanical, aeronautical, electrical, e.g. I might post new thread to attract those from the other branches to chime in. thanks those who have PM’d me!</p>
<p>^^^Great idea, aero. Sorry, I was starting to hijack the thread! It would be great to get an engineering internship thread started on the UA forum, so we can get some input from others.</p>
<p>I don’t know if students can stay in dorms at UAH if they’re UA students with internships in HSV. </p>
<p>No, there really isn’t public transportation in HSV to take students to internship jobs. Kids with internships typically have cars…this is pretty much true for everywhere…</p>
<p>If your kid doesn’t have a car, then a REU is better for him since those kids live on campus and only do their research/work on campus. </p>
<p>although UAH is in Cummings Research Park, it’s not really close enough to walk to most businesses… CRP is huge and the companies are over a very large area. </p>
<p>Montegut, since your son is a current UA student, he needs to go to his dept to find out specifics about various internships.</p>
<p>Really, that’s how most students are going to learn about internships about their particular Engineering discipline. </p>
<p>I don’t think a new thread is needed, because we’re mostly just parents. Few Eng’g students are posting here. The specific info is available on campus to students.</p>
<p>^^^I’m assuming lots of UA students do internships at CRP. If those students aren’t from Huntsville, where do they live during the summer? Any guidance on finding summer housing for internships?</p>
<p>Since we live in the HSV area, it’s not been a problem for us. </p>
<p>I don’t know what other students do. Perhaps UAH would rent out dorm space - don’t know if they’d expect you to take a class or not? Or maybe kids sublet apts from UAH students who are in apts during the school year and don’t need their rooms in the summer?</p>
<p>Is your son going to have a car? If not, then he really should pursue a REU…otherwise, he’d have a problem getting to his job. </p>
<p>And, you really can’t walk onto Redstone Arsenal…the entry gates and buildings are too far away.</p>
<p>Your son needs to get info from his MechE dept or look into a REU.</p>