Cooperative Education - Examples

Examples

• The University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada has the largest co-operative education program in the world, with more than 14,000 students enrolled in co-op programs and more than 3,500 active co-op employers. It offers fully automated Web-based job submission (for employers) and job application/resume posting (for students). Waterloo's engineering program is one of the few co-op only engineering programs in Canada. Waterloo's 5-year co-op program includes 24 months of work experience, the longest undergraduate co-op experience in Canada. Enrolling in the a co-op program at the University of Waterloo does not guarantee co-op employment. The school requires students to have a minimum of 16 months of valid work experience (depending on the program of study) to successfully complete their academic program. Despite a high percentage of employment via the coop program, many students obtain employment by other methods, including a student's personal networks and unpaid full-time volunteering positions.
• Also in Waterloo is Wilfrid Laurier University and the Laurier School of Business & Economics, which provides a co-op business program. It has a competitive entry limited to about one-third of the students who start the BBA program in their first-year, offers three four-month work terms, and uses web-based tools for job application. It is the first program of its kind in Canada. Additionally, the school offers a co-op MBA program for high calibre students with less than 2 years of work experience.
• Located in Vancouver, Canada, the University of British Columbia's co-operative education program includes over 3000 students from the faculties of Arts, Commerce, Engineering, Forestry, Kinesiology, and Science. Since its inception over 30 years ago, UBC Co-op has grown to become the largest program offered by post-secondary institutions in British Columbia, Canada.
• The Florida Institute of Technology has the most condensed cooperative education program allowing students to graduate in four years with 3-semester work terms. This program is only followed by engineering students and requires students to take online coursework while they are working full-time as a cooperative education student.This program's formal title is "ProTrack".
• Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has one of the largest co-operative education programs in the United States, branded as "The Ultimate Internship". Drexel has a fully Internet-based job database, where users can submit resumes and request interviews with any of the hundreds of companies that are offering positions. A student graduating from Drexel with a 5-year degree typically has a total of 18 months of internship with up to three different companies.
• Northeastern University in Boston, MA has the largest, and second-oldest, co-operative education program in the United States, and is known as one of the only five-year universities in the United States. A student graduating from Northeastern with a 5-year bachelor's degree has a total of 18 months of internship experience with up to three different companies.
• Rochester Institute of Technology was among the first universities to begin cooperative education back in 1912. Today RIT's program is the fourth-oldest and one of the largest in the world.
• Georgia Institute of Technology was one of the first universities to offer cooperative education in 1912. It is the fourth-oldest and the largest optional co-op program in the United States and has perennially been listed in U.S. News & World Report as one of the "Top Ten" co-op programs in America .
• Kettering University in Flint, Michigan enrolls students in co-operative education from their first year on campus, specializing in engineering, science, and management degree programs.
• Steinbeis Center of Management and Technology of Steinbeis University Berlin offers an international masters program (Master of Business Engineering, MBE)for graduates and young professionals which integrates practical and theoretical learning, along with on the job training by managing projects for a sponsoring company.
• Wentworth Institute of Technology has a 2 semester co-operative education program with an optional 3rd semester in the students sophomore summer. Every student in the Institute is required to do 2 co-ops. Co-operative education has been active since 1975 with over 1 thousand students in a co-op each year.
• EPUSP - Escola Politecnica da Universidade de Sao Paulo in Sao Paulo, Brazil was the first university to offer cooperative education in Brazil.
• TOBB University of Economics and Technology in Ankara, Turkey was the first university to offer cooperative education in Turkey.