A new graduate internship class, Civ Eng 921, allows non-thesis master’s degree students to earn up to six “on-the-job” credits towards their 31-credit degree.
This course is the first of its kind at the college, enabling Civil Engineering master’s students to gain credit for the graduate internships they secure, while also earning during the course of the internship.
“Industry is very interested in this program and the course because it enables students to pursue a higher-level degree in a shorter duration,” said Clayton Cloutier, chair of the Civil & Environmental Engineering Industrial Advisory Council and adjunct instructor in the department. All 12 companies represented on the department’s Industry Advisory Council have endorsed the program.
The internship experience gives students the opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge gained in the classroom to real-world engineering projects through supervised learning, further preparing them for successful careers.
“The employer has more incentive to hire a student who’s participating in this program because it provides them with more time to work with the student and train them,” he said. “A lot of employers also provide tuition reimbursement of some capacity, so reducing the number of credits the student needs to take would also reduce the amount the employer would have to help pay for.”
Accelerated Graduate Degree another way to speed Civil Engineering master’s
Students earning their bachelor’s degree at UWM can further reduce their time to earning a master’s degree by also participating in UWM’s Accelerated Graduate Degree (AGD) program. The AGD program enables students to take up to six graduate credits while completing their bachelor’s degree. These credits can satisfy both their bachelor’s and master’s degree programs, at the undergraduate tuition rate, saving time and money.
While they don’t have to be taken together, students who enroll in the Graduate Internship program and the Accelerated Graduate Degree program can earn their master’s degree in as little as a year, with significant savings. Either way, both programs speed students’ time to graduation, saving time and money. Interested students and employers can learn more about the program here or email Clayton Cloutier at cloutie5@uwm.edu.