This program, offered in partnership by CTS and MnDOT, is designed to provide an opportunity for undergraduate students interested in transportation-related careers to gain real-world skills to complement their academic pursuits.
As part of the program, interns serve in paid positions at the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) gaining hands-on professional experience. Participants work on transportation-focused projects and are provided with mentoring, training, and development opportunities.
Read more about interns' experiences in 2022
Eligibility
- Applicants must be undergraduate students currently pursuing degrees in civil, construction, environmental, geo-, and structural engineering at the University of Minnesota.
- No prior transportation-related work experience is required.
- Applicants must be legally eligible for employment in the United States. Proof of your eligibility to work in the United States will be required.
- Priority will be given to students completing their junior year, but sophomores may also apply.
- Priority will be given to applicants with a GPA of 3.0 or better.
- The program is open to all qualified applicants. Members of diverse groups are encouraged to apply.
How to Apply
Please see full application instructions for 2024 positions at the MnDOT Civil Engineering Student Worker Program web page.
More Information
Please contact Carissa Frandrup at frand086@umn.edu.
Participant Highlights
“It was definitely a great opportunity to learn how building roads and fixing bridges should be done without causing harm to our habitat—something that I am personally passionate about. I’ll definitely apply the experience and knowledge that I gained during my internship in my future work.”
—Inara Smith, 2018 intern
“I never thought I would be doing such important work. My internship has shown me real-world application skills in the field of engineering [and] allowed me to create a clear path to landing a job.”
—Joshua Tarr, 2016 intern
"My internship has given me the opportunity to study a topic that hasn't really been explored in-depth before, and I’ve been finding things that people weren’t really expecting. And it might change the way that we go about making work zones safer.”
—Caitlin Johnson, 2015 intern
“The best part of my summer internship was all the real-world learning that I was exposed to. Seeing various stages of different [concrete] paving jobs really helped me understand things that are needed to develop durable highways...This experience showed me problems and solutions in practice that I could not get from a classroom.”
—Justice Harvieux, 2014 intern
“This internship was a great stepping stone for me to be more prepared to face the world as an engineer in the future.”
—Sharon Wong, 2013 intern