BIT 4964 Cyber Field Study
Internships are an essential component of a student’s college education as they allow students to obtain work experience and gain knowledge of business functions. Internships also enable students to explore a chosen career path, improve teamwork and communications skills, and increase marketability and value to employers.
Virginia Tech students who are majoring in Cybersecurity Management and Analytics (CMA) are required to complete a Field Study internship. This is an academic internship, which is a supervised work experience involving the student, an employer, and a faculty sponsor within the Business Information Technology (BIT) department.
To meet graduation requirements, CMA students must complete a Field Study internship of at least 300 hours. They must also take the accompanying BIT 4964 Field Study course (3 credits).
- In-person internships provide the greatest practical benefit, but virtual internships are acceptable.
- Internships may occur in any semester after a CMA student reaches junior standing (60 credit hours).
Field Study internships must include work-related tasks that allow CMA students to align and improve upon at least five cybersecurity competencies from the “List of Competencies (draft)” NIST IR 8355 site. Students should focus on the technical competencies to enhance future cybersecurity skills. See this page for additional eligibility requirements and this page for Frequently Asked Questions.
Employers who are interested in hiring Virginia Tech CMA students for a Field Study internship should click on the Employers button.
CMA students bear the responsibility of acquiring an appropriate internship. They are encouraged to search for internship opportunities in the varied and pioneering industries in the greater Washington, D.C. area, but internship opportunities are found by various methods, including from resources below:
- Business Horizons Career Fair, offered by Pamplin Career Services every semester
- Job search platforms including Handshake, LinkedIn, Zip Recruiter, Indeed, Going Global and USA Careers, and Career Shift
- Pamplin Career Services and Career and Professional Development
- Career events offered by Pamplin Career Events and Career and Professional Development Programs and Events and posted in Handshake
- Experiential learning opportunities offered by the Hume Center, Commonwealth Cyber Initiative, and Virginia Cyber Range
- Virginia Tech faculty
- Peer networks and family connections
Once CMA students have secured an internship that meets the eligibility requirements, they should click on the “Apply for Field Study” button at the top of this page. From there, they should click on the button for the associated semester where they will be doing the internship to view and submit the Field Study application.
- Students must have an internship offer letter from a company or supervisor/recruiter to complete the application.
Each semester the BIT department reviews submitted applications and evaluates them for approval and for approved enrollment in the BIT 4964 Field Study Course. Approved students will be notified and enrolled to the course prior to the requested semester on a continually rolling basis until the last day to add by the BIT Department.
Students who are unable to acquire an internship or neglected to apply for a suitable internship must follow the procedures below to apply for the Field Study substitute course to remain on track for graduation.
- Meet with their Academic Advisor to discuss the BIT 4964 Field Study requirement and understand the importance of experiential learning resulting from internships.
- Complete and submit this form, which requires details about attempts to pursue internships or rationale for not pursuing internships.
If approved, the student will be added to the substitute course by the BIT department on a rolling basis up to the beginning of the enrolled semester. The enrolled substitute course CANNOT double-count as a substitute course for a required CMA Elective.