Bridging Classroom and Industry: Student Perspectives on the Impact of CS Coursework on Internship Readiness

Internship experiences are valuable components of undergraduate computing programs, offering students the chance to apply classroom knowledge and skills in a real-world setting. In evaluating the computing curricula, an important question arises about which courses have the greatest impact on students' preparedness for internships. Interested in getting student perceptions of course impact, we required students at our institution who completed computing internships, to submit a reflection paper which included a prompt about which courses they found most beneficial during their internship experience. These reflections were analyzed by tracking the frequency of specific course mentions and identifying common themes across responses. This work's purpose was to determine how we could adjust our CS course content, sequences, and requirements to better serve students prior to them attaining internships. The findings revealed that while students saw value in nearly every course within the computing curriculum, certain courses stood out as being especially impactful.