| Undergraduate Co-op / Internship
Program |
| Requirements / eligibility |
| On this page: |
|
Co-ops
and internships: terminology |
|
Number
of work terms required / schedule |
|
Length
and timing of work terms |
|
Student
eligibility |
|
Nature
of the work assignment, responsibility |
|
Learning
Objectives |
|
Salary
and benefits |
|
Student
enrollment with the university |
|
Other
arrangements |
|
Academic
credit |
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| Co-ops and Internships: Terminology |
| • |
Co-ops are usually multi-term,
rotating assignments including work terms in fall and spring semesters.
Work is full-time. |
| • |
Internships are usually
one-term experiences. Work may be full- or part-time. |
| • |
However, beware: Not all
employers use these terms consistently or with consistent meanings. |
| |
See more about what's
a co-op and what's an internship? |
| • |
Both terms "co-op"
and "internship" are in our program name because students
in either type of work experience may enroll in the program as long
as their work is full-time, paid, career-related, and lasts at least
one full semester / school term. |
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| Number of work terms required
/ schedule: |
| • |
The student may work one
or multiple terms, as agreed by the student and employer and the
student's academic department. |
| • |
A Work
/ School Schedule Agreement is required for a student to be
enrolled in the program. |
| • |
Work must be full-time. |
| • |
Employers may require
students in your program to work a specified number of terms to
meet the needs of your program. |
| • |
Academic departments may
place restrictions on when students can work — because the
ultimate goal is for the student to complete the requirements for
her or his degree. |
| • |
Students who work in fall
and/or spring semesters may need to extend their academic program
beyond four years, depending on the timing of their work terms and
when required courses are offered. |
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| Length and timing of work terms
and registration: |
| • |
A work term must be at
least a full semester or summer (13 to 15 weeks). |
| • |
Work must be full-time. |
| • |
If the student works multiple
terms, the student may also work one-half summer terms. |
| • |
Enrollment in the co-op program must
be initiated in advance of the first work term. |
| • |
A Work
/ School Schedule Agreement, set up in advance of the first
scheduled work term, is required for a student to be enrolled in
the Program. |
| • |
See the three-year calendar
of work term and semester begin and end dates. |
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| Student eligibility and participation |
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| • |
Undergraduates should
see student
eligibility criteria. |
| • |
Students in all undergraduate
majors may enroll in the program.
See participation
by major for actual enrollment numbers. |
| • |
Students must attend a program
orientation before the first work term in order to participate
in the program. |
| • |
Career Services is not
authorized to enroll graduate students.
Graduate students are welcome to use our services to seek employment.
Those who wish to register with the university during co-op work
must follow requirements of Graduate
School Cooperative Education Program. |
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| Nature of the work assignment,
responsibility: |
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| • |
The student's work should
be meaningful to the organization and compatible with the student's
abilities while also enabling the student to learn and develop.
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| • |
The student should be
made to understand how her/his work fits into the larger organizational
picture. |
| • |
A multiple-work-term arrangement
should involve increased responsibility and complexity of work assignments,
commensurate with the student's academic experience, work experience,
and maturity. |
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| Learning Objectives: |
| • |
The student is required
to develop learning objectives for each work term and must complete
a Learning Objectives Form. (PDF
version or MS
Word version). During the first week on the job, the student
and employer should discuss the objectives and complete the appropriate
sections of the form. |
| |
(PDF files require Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Get
it free if you don't have it.) |
| • |
Following the work term,
the student will meet with her/his Career Services co-op / internship
advisor to discuss the extent to which the learning objectives were
achieved. |
| • |
The purpose is to assist
both employer and student to enter into an arrangement with expectations
more clearly spelled out and agreed upon, and should assist the
student in processing the learning experience. |
| • |
This should in no way
replace or interfere with procedures employers have in place for
co-ops / interns. |
| • |
More about Learning
Objectives. |
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| Salary and benefits: |
| • |
Students must be paid
by their employers. |
| • |
Other benefits
such as insurance, leave time, and housing assistance are at the
discretion of each employer. |
| • |
For more information see: |
|
•
For employers:
Developing
your program — determining salary and benefits |
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•
salary
data |
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| Student enrollment with the
university: |
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| • |
Students must meet all
program requirements listed here and meet eligibility
to be enrolled with the university through the Undergraduate Co-op
/ Internship Program during work terms. |
| • |
Students do not receive
academic credit through the Undergraduate Co-op / Internship Program.
Career Services is not authorized by the university to grant academic
credit for this purpose. Academic credit is granted by academic
department. Contact yours if you wish to discuss and academic-credit-bearing
arrangement. |
| • |
Enrollment in the co-op program must
be initiated, and requirements followed, before the start of the
first work term. Students cannot request retroactive enrollment
in the program after starting or completing a work term. |
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| Evaluation: |
| • |
See:
Evaluation
information for students
Evaluation information for employers |
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| Other arrangements |
| • |
Arrangements not meeting
our program criteria (part-time, unpaid, etc.) or involving graduate
students are not administered by Career Services. |
| • |
Career Services will gladly
assist employers to post
these positions, but students do not enroll with Career Services
while working. |
| • |
Career Services does not
administer internships involving academic credit and cannot enroll
students for experiences that are not full-time, paid and career-related. |
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| Academic credit: |
| • |
Career Services provides many resources
for seeking internships, including internships for which employers
want you to earn academic credit. Please note that the Career Services
department is not authorized by the university to grant that academic
credit. |
| • |
For employers who require,
or students who desire to earn, academic credit in connection with
a work experience, be aware that this is entirely up to the discretion
of the student's academic department. |
| • |
Contact your academic
department to discuss its policies. |
