Engineering Co-ops & Internships

Engineering students can search and apply for internships through Handshake, where many of Lehigh’s employer and industry partners recruit students for summer, fall, and spring opportunities.

The Center for Career & Professional Development can support students through:

• Search strategies and application planning
• Resume and cover letter support
• Interview preparation and mock interviews

Make an appointment to develop an internship search action plan with your career coach!

Networking can help students learn about industries, career paths, and internship opportunities. Students can build connections through:

• Lehigh Connects: Alumni Mentoring
• LinkedIn Search Tool: Lehigh Alumni on LinkedIn
• Recruiting Opportunities: Employer Events on Handshake

Students interested in receiving academic credit for a planned internship experience may be eligible to enroll in ENGR 160 Engineering Internship. 

For questions about enrolling in ENGR 160, contact your academic advisor or the RCEAS Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education.

Engineering co-op participants can earn academic credit by registering for ENGR 200 and completing any asynchronous requirements during their fall or spring semester full-time work term (35+ hours/week). Students may also choose to take a leave of absence from the University to pursue a not-for-credit co-op experience.

About ENGR 200 Engineering Work Experience:

• Graded as pass/fail
• Requires a flat registration fee of $355.00
• Satisfies CPT requirements for international students interested in a co-op
• May be repeated up to two times for a maximum of 6 free elective credits
• Prior approval is required to register for ENGR 200 (details below)

Students enrolled in ENGR 200 are not eligible to register for additional coursework and are not charged regular tuition for the term. However, they remain actively enrolled at Lehigh, retain access to online and on-campus student services and facilities, and may choose to opt-in for on-campus housing, meal plans, and University health insurance.

Students who receive any grants, scholarships, awards, or financial aid must contact the Office of Financial Aid to discuss an aid-distribution plan for the co-op semester.

To participate in a co-op program and enroll in ENGR 200, a student must:

• Be enrolled in an undergraduate degree program at Lehigh University
• Be affiliated with an engineering major by the start of the work term (including Arts-Engineering, IDEAS, IBE and CSB)
• Have completed at least two semesters of coursework by the start of the work term (i.e, rising-sophomore or above)
• Be in good academic standing with the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering & Applied Science by the start of work term
• Have undergraduate coursework remaining after the co-op semester

1. If you're interested in pursuing a co-op and would like to receive academic credit, start by completing the following tasks:
   • Set up your Handshake account and complete your profile
   • Make your Handshake profile public to employers (privacy settings)
   • Develop your resume and enhance it in Career Lab
   • Complete a virtual mock interview on Big Interview
   • Schedule a meeting with the engineering career coach to discuss your application process and strategies
2.  Begin searching and applying for co-op positions on Handshake and company websites.
3. Contact your academic advisor and schedule a meeting to discuss your interest in a co-op.
   • You will need to determine the best timing for you to take a semester off from your regular coursework for co-op based on your degree progression and course scheduling options.
   • In many cases, pausing your degree coursework to participate in co-op will result in extending your graduation timeline by one semester.
   • Some majors may offer summer coursework to accommodate taking a fall or spring semester off. Discuss available summer coursework with your major department.
4.  When you receive a co-op offer from an employer, contact the RCEAS Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education to request to enroll in ENGR 200.
5.  Engineering co-op participants will earn 3 free elective credits by successfully completing the requirements of their co-op experience during the fall or spring work term.
   • Students must register themselves for ENGR 200 during the class registration period in the semester prior to their work term. 
   • There is a fee of $355.00 for registration in ENGR 200.
   • ENGR 200 may be repeated up to two times for a maximum of 6 free elective credits.

It is important to adhere to the following deadlines when planning to participate in a for-credit engineering co-op experience:

• Develop professional skills
• Clarify career interests
• Build a network of industry contacts
• Gain confidence
• Earn money
• Enhance career-readiness competencies

Career immersion programs like internships and co-ops allow students to bridge the gap between degree coursework and the working world. In addition to gaining industry insights and professional work experience, co-op participants develop essential career-readiness skills like time management, organization, adaptability, problem-solving and teamwork. Here’s what recent participants had to say about their experiences:

My co-op felt like a full-time engineering role. I was shipping secure software, picking up tickets from the backlog, and contributing to real products used by customers. At Chainguard, a unicorn startup working to make open source software safer, I helped deliver container images with zero known vulnerabilities. I learned how to navigate ambiguity, ask for help, and collaborate effectively on a remote team. The experience showed me that I want to build software with purpose—work that protects customers, supports the business, and contributes to something bigger than just code.

- Tina Pham (she/her): Computer Science and Business, Class of 2026