I suggested recruiting at some master's programs for our internship program, but was promptly rejected because they only consider undergrads. I don't understand their motives for this. Could it be consider a form of age discrimination?<p>(This is at a medium-sized tech company in SV).
It clearly would be <i>discriminatory</i> (in the broadest sense) because it creates a distinctive criterion that <i>a priori</i> defines who can, and who cannot, apply. However, ‘discrimination’ is just a synonym that has taken on all the negative connotations of <i>distinguishing</i> (a word with whom it shares a common root) and therefore one should sometimes wonder whether or not all ‘discriminatory’ acts are <i>prima facie</i> ill-advised. If you can rephrase the criterion in terms of <i>distinguishing</i> between different groups you’re (probably) on an ethically defensible high-ground.
Have you asked for a <i>reason</i> for this limitation? For instance, it could be something as simple as undergrad programs providing academic credit for internships, but masters programs not: which affects the employer’s obligation to pay the intern.