Through co-op, DAAP student finds career path in photography

For example, when fifth-year design student Hatsue Andrews graduates in April 2023, they are confident of a career path in photography. (Hatsue prefers to go by their first name and uses she/they pronouns interchangeably.) That’s because in addition to coursework, she and other communication design students at UC's College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP) are required to participate in a year of co-op experiences to help them combine their education with their passion. Students can choose to apply to co-op positions from a large roster of businesses that DAAP has partnerships with, or students can seek out their own co-op experiences with businesses that would like to participate in cooperative education.

“I found all but one of my co-ops myself,” Hatsue says. “It is an option and DAAP is so flexible and adaptable in allowing students to chase after what they want to do."

These co-op experiences, they say, helped them build upon the coursework and learn there are a plethora of different methods to communicate via design, and not only through graphics.

“Co-op teaches you what you like, but it also teaches you what you don’t like, and I gained a deeper understanding of what I wanted to do,” Hatsue says of diversifying her co-op experiences across all areas of design.