Cooperative education is an academic program in which students gain paid, career-related work experience to complement and enhance their education. Some co-op employers require students to complete multiple work experiences that alternate between classroom study, while other co-op employers offer a single summer or semester opportunity. Co-op credits (Undergraduates: 1-2 credits per semester; Graduate students: 1-6 variable credits with permission from advisor) may be applied toward academic degree requirements in some majors-check with your academic advisor for details.

Internships are typically summer-only experiences, while most co-op experiences take place during the fall or spring semesters. Internships may or may not be paid or career-related, and often the experience is not progressive in nature. Internships will not earn credit through the University Career Services.

Valuable career-related experience prior to graduation. This experience helps determine future career paths, technical and related elective choices, as well as provide insight for determining majors and minors.

Job search skills. Students gain valuable experience in resume writing, interview skills, job search processes, and many other skills that will be important to future employment searches. Career Services offers one-on-one appointments and numerous campus-wide seminars to provide students with the skills helpful for a successful job search.

Maintain full time student status. When registered for a full time co-op experience, you are considered an active, full-time student and may be eligible for coverage under parent/guardian health insurance plans. You may also qualify for financial aid repayment deferment.

Professional development. Students learn the "soft skills" required to become a professional, such as: networking, communication skills, setting priorities and time management, as well as professional etiquette and dress. Additionally, students will have opportunities to develop technical writing and presentation skills.

Earn a competitive salary. Students participating in cooperative education typically earn fifty to seventy-five percent of their full-time entry-level counterparts. Salary is dependent on the major, work location, experience, and semester standing. Many students are able to save money to help pay for their college education. In addition, some employers offer tuition assistance, 401K participation, relocation assistance, and housing stipends.

Job search process is made easy. MTU works with companies, locates job opportunities, and posts these opportunities for our students. Students interview for the co-op positions, and register for our program once an offer has been made from an employer. Some students locate a potential co-op employer on their own. In this case, the Co-op Office will contact the employer to determine if the work offered is suitable to qualify for co-op credits and enter into a cooperative agreement with the University.

Full-time job opportunities. Upon graduation, many employers offer cooperative education students full-time employment. Most employers we work with use cooperative education as their primary recruitment tool for attracting and retaining new graduates. Cooperative education is a way for organizations to establish and maintain a candidate pool from which they identify talented and diverse individuals to meet future business needs.

Extended graduation date. It may take four-and-a-half years or more to complete your degree including cooperative education. This additional time is considered time well spent because most students spread their education over five years, or more, anyway. It is wise to meet with your academic advisor to discuss your future class schedules.

Possible additional costs. There may be costs associated with taxes, a new wardrobe, a car, housing and relocation in order to complete a co-op assignment. However, remember that you will be earning a salary!

Missing life at Tech. Social disruption is probably one of the biggest concerns that students express. If you are out on co-op assignment and away from campus, you may miss out on sporting events or being active in student organizations, fraternities or sororities. When you return from your assignment, you may be on a different class schedule than your peers.

Housing details. Cancellation of residence hall contracts and subletting apartments may be another issue. Co-op makes you eligible to cancel your residence hall contract for the semester you are on assignment, although you are still responsible for the other half of your contract. You may live in MTU housing if your co-op is local. Check with your residence hall for details.

For the most part, it's your call!

Some employers require multiple rotation co-ops and advertise this requirement in their job posting. Students find it to be very beneficial to co-op more than once with the same employer because it allows them to gain responsibility and more experience while alternating between work and school. Other students find it is beneficial to complete co-ops with different employers, so they have the opportunity to experience different industries, corporate cultures, and projects.

We would like to visit our students. Unfortunately that isn't possible because of staff constraints, but we will be sending you co-op "e-newsletters" to remind you of upcoming deadlines and the latest happenings on campus. Be sure to check your MTU email account regularly as this is our primary communication avenue with our co-op students.

If you are unable to check your MTU account for any reason, or would prefer to receive your e-newsletters via your company email account, please let us know and we can accommodate this for you. It is important, however, to check with your employer first to make sure your employer agrees to receiving this information.

It's also important to let our office know of any changes in your work or housing contact information, as we will update our records to reflect this.

Once in a great while we do have students who have problems, such as lack of work, assignments not matching their major field of study, conflicts with other employees, etc... Your co-op experience should be career-related. If for any reason you do not believe this to be the case, please call our office immediately to discuss your concerns.

Please do not hesitate to call or e-mail the Co-op Office to talk over the problems and get advice.

It is important that you try to work the problem out on your own first. We will provide guidance and recommend courses of action.

Do not let the problem continue until the end of your assignment, and just decide that you do not want to return to the company. Make every effort to resolve the problem from the beginning. It is not fair to the company to lose a good student because they were not made aware of a problem with their program.

The Co-op Office will only intervene when the student requests it. Our office will never contact a company based on a conversation with a student unless the student agrees to this course of action, and is willing to put their request in writing.