Engineering Career Services
College of Engineering

Graduate Students

Welcome to Engineering Career Services with support for all College of Engineering Graduate Students!

Listed below are the ECS staff that specialized in working with graduate students:

Julie Rae, ECS Associate Director
PhD students – Summer Intern, Co-op, & Full-time
julie.rae@wisc.edu

• Resumes & Cover Letters
• Job Search Strategies
• Job Offers & Negotiation
• CPT for PhD Students

Student appointments: Schedule with Stephane Salazar Kann, ECS Director, via Starfish – click here (COE students only)

Sierra Strebe-Grim, ECS Career Advisor
MS students – Summer Intern, Co-op, & Full-time
sstrebe@wisc.edu

• Resumes & Cover Letters
• Job Search Strategies
• Job Offers & Negotiation
• CPT for MS Students

Student appointment via Starfish – click here (COE students only)

 

Quick Links:

Resume Samples for Graduate Students

Below you will find sample resume for both Masters and PhD levels. General guidance on building a resume can be found here.

Looking for assistance in reviewing your resume? Connect with an ECS advisor

Handshake

Handshake makes it easy for every UW-Madison student to explore career events, connect to jobs internships & co-ops, and even schedule on-campus interviews.

With Handshake you can:

  • Browse and register for career events on campus – including career fairs!
  • Explore thousands of openings from over 200,000 employers nationwide
  • Get personalized job recommendations based on your interests, majors and more

Get Started:

  1. Read the UW-Madison Handshake Student Terms of Use
  2. Visit https://wisc.joinhandshake.com
  3. Activate your account by clicking the blue button or entering your wisc.edu email address
  4. Complete your profile and start exploring!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’ve pre-loaded your profile to get you started. Your profile’s default setting is “private.”
Employers, alumni, and students won’t be able to see anything until you choose.

Questions? See the Help Resources below, or contact ECS.

Preparing for an Interview

This is where all your work ultimately pays off—skills assessment, resume development, and communication with targeted employers. Preparation and practice are key to successful interviewing. A lack of thorough employer research is often interpreted as poor preparation and a lack of interest in the employer.

Quick Tips:

  1. Know your resume “inside and out.”
  2. Understand that the resume emphasizes your skills and accomplishments; it may be used in the interview to guide the conversation or as reference.
  3. Verbally practice answering questions (Yes! Out loud!)
  4. Do employer research.
  5. Attend an employer information sessions on campus if available
  6. Prepare your materials, clothing, and transportation the night prior to the interview so that you are not rushed the day of.
  7. Dress professionally for the interview
  8. Answer every interview question with supportive information; never provide a simple one- or two-word answer.
  9. At the end of the interview, ask questions. Doing this demonstrates your interest in the employer and allows you to better assess the opportunity
  10. After the interview, follow-up with a thank you!

Interviewing Guides & Tips

  • HireVue Practice Site
    • Youtube Explanation
    • Some employers use this tool to preview candidates
    • Sample site has 3 questions to test process
  • ECS Job Search Guides – INTERVIEWING
    • Prepare for Interviews
    • Typical Interview Questions
    • Questions to Ask Recruiters
    • Different Types of Interviews
    • On-site and Second Round Interviews
  • Big Interview Software
    • UW-Madison has a license for Big Interview software to assist you with interviewing. We do not recommend using their resume templates, but the interview preparation information can be useful.

    S.T.A.R. Method for Behavioral Interview Questions

    In responding to behavioral questions, it is best to provide a specific example to support your response.

    Frame the response using an example from your resume including: academic projects, classes, work experiences, and out-of-class activities.

    Be very specific as you cover the four necessary steps (Situation, Task, Action & Result) for optimum success:

    • Situation: Give an example of a situation you were involved in that resulted in a positive outcome.
    • Task: Describe the task(s) required in the situation.
    • Action: Talk about the various actions you initiated or completed.
    • Result: Provide the results directly connected to your actions.

    Looking for resources to help with technical interviews, coding interviews or case interviews? Check out the LinkedIn Learning platform and search for the type of interview by keyword. LinkedIn Learning is free for all UW-Madison students

Evaluating & Negotiating Offers

Step 1: Evaluate your Market

A job offer is much more to consider than just the base salary. Whether this is your first job or fifth, one should consider many factors before accepting any offer. Your next position can go beyond guiding your career path and should be given ample time when deciding.
Some easy comparisons to consider include:

• Financial Compensation (salary, insurance, relocation/ signing bonus)
• Location (preference, flexibility, relocation)
• Career Plan (advancement, rotational program vs fixed, interests, educational opportunities)
• Employer Culture/ Environment (values, turn-over, travel, dress, atmosphere, typical hours)

Step 2: Evaluate your Offer(s)

Which items are most important to you and your career?
An offer matrix is often a good tool to use to compare multiple offers. A sample offer matrix is provided to help you start to formulate what is important to you:

ECS Career Matrix

Step 3: Negotiate?

Negotiation is not always necessary and reasonable depending on competing offers, job market, etc. but if you feel it is, ask for flexibility on one or two carefully chosen items (i.e. Salary, start date, moving expenses, time-off)

Rules for negotiating:

1. Don’t negotiate until a firm offer (in writing) has been extended
2. Be prepared and use facts (average salary information, cost of living statistics)
3. Understand the needs and abilities of the employer.
4. All negotiating should take place over the phone or in person; this needs to be a conversation
5. Have your notes and materials with you, with source information
6. Follow-up with an email after the conversation to ensure that key points discussed are “in-writing”

Step 4: Accept/Reject, Extend Offers

Once you have made the decision to accept or reject an offer, verbally confirm and immediately follow-up in writing. Be sure to clarify important details for example “start date’, salary, bonuses, and other important specifics.
ACCEPT ONLY ONE OFFER (even if something better comes along later!)

Don’t burn bridges you may need in the future, and risk being “bad-mouthed” to other organizations.

Immediately decline (in writing) all other offers as well as notify all other employers that are still considering you. This is a professional courtesy and allows the recruiter to continue their search.

Report your accepted/declined offers:

Graduate Students

ECS Job Search Guide: Evaluating Offers & Negotiation

U.S. Employer’s Guide to Hiring International Students (information provided by Interstride and Fragomen Law Firm – July 2022)

National Data for Master’s Salaries

Master’s Program (MS) Mean Median
Biomedical/Medical Engineering $76,914 $81,719
Chemical Engineering $86,307 $88,100
Civil Engineering $77,175 $76,762
Computer Engineering $117,738 $120,794
Electrical & Computer Engineering $101,720 $98,000
Engr. Mechanics* $98,142 $101,650
Geological/Geophysical Engineering $100,455 $110,000
Industrial Engineering $89,720 $89,590
Manufacturing Systems Engineering** $99,577 $95,000
Materials Science & Engineering*** $87,040 $83,667
Mechanical Engineering $91,725 $90,015
Metallurgical Engineering NA NA
Nuclear Engr. & Engr. Physics NA NA
Source: NACE Summer 2024 Salary Survey
*Aerospace Engineering
**Manufacturing Engineering
*** Materials Engineering

National Data for PhD Salaries

Doctorate Program (PhD) Mean Median
Biomedical/Medical Engineering $107,161 $121,429
Chemical Engineering $118,994 $120,167
Civil Engineering $87,604 $77,333
Computer Engineering $131,877 $149,211
Electrical & Computer Engineering. $124,863 $126,817
Electrical, Electronics, & Comms. Engineering $119,827 $126,125
Engr. Mechanics & Astronautics* $120,369 $119,867
Environmental/Enviro. Health Engineering $92,486 $88,600
Geological Engineering $98,022 $98,300
Industrial Engineering (incl. Manf. Sys.) $98,798 $88,000
Materials Science & Engineering** $103,826 $105,441
Mechanical Engineering $111,759 $101,875
Metallurgical Engineering NA NA
Nuclear Engr. & Engr. Physics*** $87,572 $89,834
Source: NACE Summer 2024 Salary Survey
*Aerospace Engineering
** Materials Engineering
***Nuclear Engineering

The Engineering Cooperative Education (Co-op) and Summer Internship program provides graduate engineering students with the option to gain valuable “real world” engineering experiences working with a variety of industries and governmental agencies.

Basic requirements for these experiences include working full-time, being competitively paid, completing engineering assignments, and working under the supervision of an engineer on-site.

Obtaining work experience through a co-op or summer internship before completing your degree requirements typically increases employment opportunities and starting salaries at graduation.

About Co-op:

Cooperative education is an academic elective option as part of your engineering education. Co-op students work a full-time, paid, engineering position, on-site and under the supervision of an engineer. The co-op duration must align with the UW-Madison academic calendar, and is typically offered from Spring-Summer or Summer-Fall. In some circumstances, a co-op may be a single Fall or Spring semester. Fall and Spring semesters of co-op must run a minimum duration of 15 weeks.

Note: Participation in the co-op program is limited to students in Master’s Research and PhD programs in the College of Engineering.

About Summer Internship:

The summer internship is for students seeking engineering employment during the summer months only. These 12-14 week, full-time, on-site roles provide students exposure to engineering while enabling the employer to fill short-term project needs. Students securing a summer internship may have the option for academic credit in addition to the position being paid.

Note: Participation in the summer internship program can be an option for College of Engineering graduate students in accelerated/professional programs and research-based graduate programs.

Instructions for Reporting an accepted Co-op or Summer Internship

Instructions for:

Instructions for domestic students in MS & PhD

Step #1: Confirm eligibility to participate in a co-op or summer internship with ECS graduate advisor

Step #2: Report your offer in Handshake 

  • Login to Handshake via your MyUW
  • Click on “Career Center” in the left navigation and select “Experiences” from the pick-list.
  • Click on “Submit and Experience”
  • Choose the Experience Type and Term that works best for you specific offer.
  • After selecting the correct Experience Type, follow the prompts to submit the required information

Step #3: Offer Letter

After you have clicked “submit” for your Experience Report, you will see your overview page

Click on “New Attachment” to upload your offer letter (blue button on left)

 

Step #4: Faculty Approval

Please complete the following form:

Lastly…

After steps 1-4 are completed, to request internship/co-op course enrollment authorization, please email:

PhD Students – Julie Rae (jrae@wisc.edu)
MS Students – Sierra Strebe-Grim (sstrebe@wisc.edu)

Curricular Practical Training (CPT)

Instructions for International Students (F-1) who have accepted a co-op or summer internship and will need work authorization through the CPT program.

Note: Participation in the co-op program is limited to students in Master’s Research and PhD programs in the College of Engineering. Additionally, CPT cannot be used to delay graduation or degree completion for any graduate program.

STEP ACTION DETAILS REMINDER
1 Confirm eligibility to participate in a co-op or summer internship with ECS Masters advisor Attend weekly MS drop-in hours or schedule an appointment with Sierra Strebe-Grim
  • Participation in the co-op program is limited to students in Master’s Research and PhD programs in the College of Engineering
  • Participation in the summer internship program can be an option for College of Engineering graduate students in accelerated/professional programs and research-based graduate programs
2 Get approval from faculty advisor Request your faculty advisor to confirm their approval of internship/ co-op by completing google form — https://go.wisc.edu/ecs-ms-experience-fac-approve
  • You must have additional approval from your faculty advisor to participate co-op or summer internship position and CPT
  • The form requires logging in with a wisc email address
3 Obtain offer letter with required information Your offer letter must include:

  • Company letterhead
  • Your name
  • Company/organization name
  • Start and end date of employment
  • Number of work hours per week (40 hours/week)
  • Your position title
  • Brief job description that highlights the direct connection to your program of study
  • Employer address (company’s address)
  • Supervisors’ name, position and contact information (email)
  • Signed by employer (physical or authenticated digital)
 Check the International Student Services (ISS) template letter for missing info: https://iss.wisc.edu/cpt-for-employers-and-campus-partners/#cpt-letter-requirements
4 Report your internship or co-op offer
  • Login to Handshake via your MyUW
  • Click on “Career Center” in the left navigation and select “Experiences” from the tiles below
  • Click on “Submit an Experience”
  • Choose the Experience Type that works best for your specific offer.
    • Options include:
    • 2026 – Spring ONLY Co-op (MS)
    • 2026 – Spring to Summer Co-op (MS)
    • 2026 – Summer INTERNSHIP (MS)
  • After selecting the correct Experience, follow the prompts to submit the required information
  • After you click “submit” for your Experience Report, you will see your overview page
  • Click on “New Attachment” to upload your offer letter (blue button on left)
  • Academic credit is a requirement for F-1 Visa students for all Fall, Spring, or Summer term co-ops/internships.
  • After you complete this step, ECS will review your reported Experience and offer letter on Handshake, then authorize your enrollment in course 702 and send you a confirmation email message.You need to wait until ECS provides you with authorization to complete the course enrollment.
5 Receive authorization for 702 Co-op Course enrollment
  • After receiving the course authorization, enroll in course 702 via MyUW
  • You must enroll in the 702 Co-op Course before submitting your CPT application.
6 Submit Electronic Verification  in  CPT application
  • Review CPT application process here
  • In the section “Request Electronic Verification”, enter the following information and then click “Add User” to request CPT approval:

 Masters Students:

  • First Name: Sierra
  • Last Name: Strebe-Grim
  • Email: sstrebe@wisc.edu
  • Phone: 608/262-3471
  • Follow the prompts to complete CPT application before you “submit”
  • After you request CPT verification from the advisor, ECS will receive an electronic request through Terra Dotta to approve your CPT verification. The verification from ECS does not indicate an approval of CPT from ISS.
  • When the CPT application is approved, you will receive an email confirmation from Terra Dotta, with your new I-20 form that has the CPT information on
    page 2.
  • You CANNOT start work until the CPT is approved and is documented on your I-20.

 

CPT process outlined by ISS

Curricular Practical Training (CPT)

Instructions for International Students (F-1) in an Engineering PhD program who have accepted a qualifying co-op or summer internship and will need work authorization through the CPT program. Note: CPT cannot be used to delay graduation or degree completion.

Please refer to the Summer Internship & Co-op Program overview to learn about qualifying experiences/positions.

STEP ACTION DETAILS REMINDER
1 Get approval from faculty advisor Request your faculty advisor to confirm their approval of internship/ co-op by completing google form — https://go.wisc.edu/ecs- coop-fac-approve
  • You must have approval from your faculty advisor to participate co-op or summer internship position and CPT
  • The form requires logging in with a
    wisc email address
2 Obtain offer letter with required information Your offer letter must include:

  • Company letterhead
  • Your name
  • Company or organization name
  • Start and end date of employment
  • Numbers of work hours per week
  • Your position title
  • Brief job description
  • Employer address (company’s address)
  • Supervisors’ name and contact information
  • Signed by employer (physical or authenticated digital)
 Check International Student Services (ISS) template letter for missing info: https://iss.wisc.edu/cpt-for-employers-and-campus-partners/#cpt-letter-requirements
3 Report your internship or co-op offer
  • Login to Handshake via your MyUW
  • Click on “Career Center” in the top navigation and select “Experiences” from the tiles below
  • Click on “Submit an Experience”
  • Choose the Experience Type that works best for your specific offer.
    • Options include:
    • 2026 – Spring ONLY Co-op (PhD)
    • 2026 – Spring to Summer Co-op (PhD)
    • 2026 – Summer INTERNSHIP (PhD)
  • After selecting the correct Experience Type, follow the prompts to submit required information
  • After you click “submit” for your Experience Report, you will see your overview page
  • Click on “New Attachment” to upload your offer letter (blue button on left)
  • Academic credit is a requirement for F-1 Visa students for all Fall, Spring, or Summer term co-ops/internships.
  • After you complete this step, ECS will review your reported Experience and offer letter on Handshake, then authorize your enrollment in course 702 and send you a confirmation e- mail message. You need to wait until ECS provides you with authorization to complete the course enrollment.
4 Receive authorization for 702 Co-op Course enrollment
  • After receiving the course authorization, enroll in course 702 via MyUW
  • You must enroll in the 702 Co-op Course before submitting your CPT application.
5 Submit Electronic Verification  in  CPT application
  • Review CPT application process here
  • In the section “Request Electronic Verification”, enter the following information and then click “Add User” to request CPT approval:
    • PhD Students:
    • First Name: Stephanie
    • Last Name: Salazar Kann
    • Email: ssalazar@wisc.edu
    • Phone: 608-262-5096
    • Follow the prompts to complete CPT application before you “submit”
  • After you request CPT verification from advisor, ECS will receive an electronic request through Terra Dotta to approve your CPT verification. The verification from ECS does not indicate an approval of CPT from ISS.
  • When the CPT application is approved, you will receive an email confirmation from Terra Dotta, with your new I-20 form that has the CPT information on
    page 2.
  • You CANNOT start work until CPT approval is on your I-20.

 

CPT process outlined by ISS

Policies:

ECS Job Search Resources:

Job Search Sites:

Engineering Career Services is the official unit responsible for collecting post-graduation plans on behalf of the College of Engineering in compliance with State Statute (ch 36.65). Graduates are to complete this request within the semester in which they graduate and up to 6 months post graduation.

Report Post-Graduation Plans: http://go.wisc.edu/coegrad-fds (login required)

  • December 2025 MS and PhD graduates – collection period ends August 2026
  • May 2026 MS and PhD graduates – collection period January 2026 – December 2026