Female student at career fair

Start your career before graduation. An engineering internship is a valuable addition to your undergraduate education.

Benefits of an internship

  • Test the waters of the industry and workplaces you are interested in.
  • Build the experience necessary for the competitive job market and strengthen your resume.
  • Give real-world context to your studies.
  • Competitive compensation. Your engineering education, though not yet complete, has strong value in the marketplace.

Did you know?

  • Work experience is more important than ever to qualify you for a job after graduation.
  • You are more likely to receive an offer for full-time work after graduation if you have interned for the employer beforehand.
  • Rates of full-time job offers for interns is over 70 percent. Internships give you a fast track to post-graduation employment.
  • If you are hired full time after you intern for a company, you are more likely to still be with the company one year later, indicative of higher satisfaction through internship.
  • Your summer internship is eligible for academic credit.
  • Handshake is the primary career portal for employers and engineering students, and a complete profile and notification settings in Handshake will increase your exposure to opportunities. Not all companies utilize Handshake, and we often promote those opportunities directly through your department's list-servs or Slack accounts. Talk to your advisor for more information.

Boulder Area Research Internship Programs

The following are internship programs run by local research institutions:

Research Experience for Undergraduates in Solar and Space Physics - LASP, Boulder, CO

Deadline for applications is in January.  Succesful applicants will work with scientist mentors at one of these Boulder institutes:

  • Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP)
  • National Solar Observatory (NSO)
  • High Altitude Observatory (HAO)
  • NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC)
  • Southwest Research Institute (SwRI)
  • Northwest Research Associates (NWRA)
  • Space Science Institute (SSI)
  • Atmospheric & Space Technology Research Associates (ASTRA)

Southwest Research Internships

Seeking STEM majors wanting hands-on experience.  Internship applicants must be enrolled in an accredited university, with a GPA of 3.0 or above. Join our team of interns working on challenging and exciting R&D projects.

Please visit our Recruiting Events page to find out when we’ll be in your area.

SOARS at NCAR

Each summer, SOARS protégés spend ten weeks conducting original research at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) or at laboratories of other SOARS sponsors. By the end of the summer, protégés will prepare scientific papers and present their research at a colloquium.

NEON Research Internships

NEON offers a variety of research internships for undergraduates during the summer, from helping to design sensor assemblies to testing sampling protocols and analyzing data. Interns work alongside staff mentors; and explore career options in weekly professional development seminars and networking events with interns from other scientific programs based in Boulder, CO.

NOAA Research Experiences for Undergraduates  (REU)

The Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program supports active research participation by undergraduate students in any of the areas of research funded by the National Science Foundation. REU projects involve students in meaningful ways in ongoing research programs or in research projects specifically designed for the REU program.

CIRES Student Program

Undergraduate (CU students only)

NIST Professional Research Experience Program (PREP)

The new NIST-wide Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) is designed to provide valuable laboratory experience and financial assistance to undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate students. Fellowships are awarded to assure continued growth and progress of science and engineering in the United States. 

NIST Pathways Program

The Pathways Program offers clear paths to Federal internships for students from high school through post-graduate school and to careers for recent graduates, and provides meaningful training and career development opportunities for individuals who are at the beginning of their Federal service. For further details on the Pathways and other student programs at NIST, please see http://www.nist.gov/ohrm/staffing/students.cfm

NIST SURF Boulder

You and your school are invited to participate in the Boulder, Colorado, Laboratories' National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program for students majoring in science, mathematics, and engineering.

Government Internship Programs beyond Boulder

Naval Research Enterprise Internship Program

The Naval Research Enterprise Internship Program (NREIP) provides an opportunity for college students to participate in research at a Department of Navy (DoN) laboratory during the summer.

National Renewable Energy Lab Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULI) Program

The Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) program encourages undergraduate students and recent graduates to pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers by providing research experiences at the Department of Energy (DOE) laboratories. Selected students participate as interns appointed at one of 17 participating DOE laboratories/facilities. They perform research, under the guidance of laboratory staff scientists or engineers, on projects supporting the DOE mission..

Internship Funding Opportunities

A list of funding sources available within CU to supplement unpaid internships.

FAQs for students