Pathmaker Internship Program™

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Pathmaker?

Pathmaker is a residential intern program at Purdue University. Participants are full-time students who perform entry-level jobs for companies. The jobs they perform are located on campus, in the nearby Purdue Research Park, or in company offices in West Lafayette or Lafayette, Indiana.

What Students Are Involved?

The majority of students involved in the Pathmaker program major in computer science or engineering, but the program is open to students across all majors as well. At present, nearly 200 students participate in the Pathmaker program.

What Are the Benefits?

Students involved in Pathmaker gain real-world work experience in their chosen field, which is one of the college experiences identified by the Gallup-Purdue Index as contributing to success later in life. Also, students gain part-time employment that often pays more than they would earn in fast-food or retail service jobs. This helps students with college affordability, which is a significant issue today — and is one of 10 major initiatives in Purdue President Mitch Daniels' Purdue Moves plan.

Companies often need extra people for a variety of limited-duration, entry-level tasks, such as benchmarking and alpha and beta testing, or preliminary security risk assessment. Purdue students are being trained to perform such tasks, giving participating companies hiring flexibility. The program also enables the companies to identify the highest-performing students and hire them as permanent employees when they graduate.

What Are the Guidelines for International Students?

Many companies hire international students as interns. However, it is the student's responsibility to know the requirements of their own visa, which will determine what internships they are eligible to apply for. Below are links to two of the most common visas.

Other information can be found at the Purdue International Students and Scholars website.