Careers

The program's overall purpose is to give students technical, real-world experience.

Students will work at Iowa DOT offices, labs and construction sites across Iowa, although most of the internship positions are located at the central complex in Ames. Interns are typically scheduled to work 40 hours per week through the summer and 20-30 hours per week during the school year.

Focus will be on gaining practical experience in areas such as:

• Architectural design.
• Community and regional planning
• Criminal justice.
• Engineering/Construction technology.
• Environmental science.
• Finance/Accounting.
• Geographic information systems.
• Human resources.
• Landscape architecture.
• Marketing/Graphic and web design.
• Statistics/Mathematics/Analytics.
• Safety/Industrial technology.

To qualify, students must:

• Be able to work 40 hours per week.
• Be enrolled as a full-time student.
• Enroll in their college's internship program.

Students will be required to periodically submit written reports and make oral presentations to summarize their internship efforts, outcomes, and relevance to their degree programs and career aspirations.

The Business, Industry, and Technology Student Internship Program will complement each student's course work and lab experiences in their respective undergraduate degree program.

At the end of the summer, students will have gained increased technical and nontechnical skills related to their curriculum, and have a greater understanding of the field and what technical areas they are interested in upon graduation.

Engineering Co-op Program

Typically, the Iowa DOT employs 15-18 civil and construction engineering students through university cooperative education programs each year. These co-op students work alongside permanent staff, gaining practical experience to complement and enhance their education.

Iowa's climate dictates that our workload in construction and maintenance is heaviest during the summer and fall semesters, so the majority of co-op placements are made during that period. However, co-op recruitment goes on year-round

What are the Qualifications for Engineering Co-ops?

To qualify for the program, students must:

• Be enrolled at a four year college or university, majoring in an engineering curriculum with eligibility for junior status upon return to school.
• Enroll in their university's co-op program.
• Be able to work 40 hours or more per week.
• First-time co-ops must work a minimum of seven months (summer plus semester).
• Have a sophomore standing prior to beginning the co-op program.

Summer Internship Program
DOT-InternCoop@iowadot.us

The Iowa DOT offers a summer Engineering Student Internship Program. The overall purpose of the program is to give college engineering students excellent technical real-world experience.

Students will work at Iowa DOT offices, labs and construction sites across Iowa. Interns are typically scheduled to work 40 hours per week through the summer and 20-30 hours per week during the school year.

The Engineering Student Internship Program will complement each student's course work and lab experiences in their respective undergraduate degree program.

Focus will be on gaining practical experience in areas such as:

• Bridge design.
• Field construction inspection.
• Maintenance.
• Materials.
• Road design.
• Traffic and safety.
• Traffic operations.

To qualify, students must:

• Be enrolled at a four year college or university, majoring in an engineering curriculum with eligibility for junior status upon return to school.
• Enroll in their college's internship program.

Students will be required to periodically submit written reports and make oral presentations to summarize their internship efforts, outcomes, and relevance to degree programs and career aspirations.

At the end of the summer, students will have gained increased technical and nontechnical skills related to their engineering curriculum. They will also have a greater understanding of the field of engineering and what technical areas they are interested in pursuing as practicing engineers.

Summer Internship Program
DOT-InternCoop@iowadot.us