Full-Time Co-op

Formal cooperative education (often shortened to “co-op”) is an educational model in which a student alternates traditional academic semesters with semesters spent working full-time in the field.

The work is paid, full-time (at least 35 hours per week) for 15 to 18 weeks at a time, related to the student’s major, supervised and evaluated.

As a student in a formal co-op program, you’ll complete three to five co-op terms prior to graduation. During each co-op term, you’ll complete an online course to help you focus on your academic and professional development. Your co-op employers also evaluate your performance.

Co-op is real-world work experience in a professional setting. Co-op students perform many of the same tasks as an entry-level professional at a level appropriate to their advancement in school. Co-op promotes your professional development and gives you a chance to apply what you learn in class. You graduate with substantial, major-related experience on your resume.

Although co-op employers are not required or expected to offer full-time jobs after graduation, sometimes the student’s performance and the employer’s hiring needs align, and every year a number of students receive full-time job offers from co-op employers as they approach graduation.

• Read co-op student stories
  
• Browse co-op positions in PAL, our custom database for matching co-op job-seekers and employers
  
• Talk to a co-op faculty director:
  • Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Cindy Damschroder
  • Engineering, Construction and Manufacturing: Rich Robles
    
  • Information Technology (IT) and Computing: Erik Alanson
  • Communication: Annie Straka