The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) Minnesota Justice Information Services (MNJIS) Internship Program provides experience for college students interested in entering the field of information technology. Interns gain knowledge and experience by observing IT analysts and engineers at work and working on an assigned MNJIS project.

Eligibility and education requirements

Students must be in their junior or senior year in college, or in graduate school, pursuing a degree in computer science, criminal justice or a similar degree. Internship work experience is directly related to a specific academic program of an educational institution. The work experience must fulfill an academic requirement or result in academic credit from an accredited educational institution. Desired coursework includes:

• Computer science
• Mathematics
• Software engineering
• Software development
• Data science
• Computer engineering

Internship details

• 10-16 week unpaid internship.
• Internship location: Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, 1430 Maryland Avenue E., St. Paul, Minnesota.
• Internships are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Some flexibility is possible to accommodate class or outside work schedules. Interns are required to work in the office at least three days per week.
• Intern must complete an assigned project with a MNJIS staff member consisting of an extensive literature review, laboratory experimentation and research, compilation of data and an oral presentation.

Examples of MNJIS projects include:

• Software development and library updates
• Automation scripting or test automation scripting
• DevOps engineering and scripting
• Evaluate software documentation
• Testing of applications
• Unit testing
• Data analytics
• Code rewrites and refactoring

Application requirements and deadlines

Students must submit the following items to be considered for an internship.

• State of Minnesota internship application
• College transcript(s)
• Verification from college advisor that internship is being taken for credit
• Submit to and successfully pass a thorough background investigation

Spring internship (January-May) -- Application deadline: Last Friday in October. 

Summer internship (June-August) -- Application deadline: Last Friday in March.

Fall internship (September-December) -- Application deadline: Last Friday in May.

All required materials should be emailed to the BCA MNJIS Internship Coordinator at BCA.MNJIS.interns@state.mn.us. Finalist candidates will be interviewed no later than six weeks after the application deadline.