17 June 2021
Great Co-Op Programs for Undergraduates
Want to gain valuable career skills and work experience during college? If so, you may want to consider a cooperative education program, or co-op.
Co-ops are fantastic opportunities for students to apply their classroom knowledge to hands-on job experiences. Through co-ops, students balance classroom learning with practical work experience related to careers of their interest. Co-ops allow students to earn money, build their resume, learn useful skills, and boost their employability.
To help you explore your options, we have curated a list of strong co-op programs at schools across the nation. Covering a wide variety of institutions, the following list features the admission profiles, program types, academic areas, and more related to these schools' co-op programs.
Click on Continue Reading to see our list of great undergraduate co-op programs nationwide.
Great Undergraduate Co-op Programs
Various institutions across the United States offer opportunities for students to participate in co-op programs. Using information compiled from U.S. News, Business Insider, World Association for Cooperative Education, Cooperative & Experiential Education Division, and National Society for Experiential Education, we have created the following list of institutions with great co-op programs for undergraduates.
For each institution's co-op program, we detail a breakdown of profiles, types, and offerings:
- Academic Profile. To help you assess academic fit, we have included each institution's overall admission rate and mid-50th percentile test score breakdowns.
- Academic Area. We have noted if some institutions offer co-ops only to specific academic areas or are open to any student.
- Program Type. Co-op programs typically come in three types: full-time alternating, part-time parallel, and full-time one-time. We have included descriptions of each institution's co-op program type.
- Full-time alternating. Students alternate one semester or quarter of academic coursework with one semester or quarter of full-time work.
- Part-time parallel. Students work a part-time job while taking classes.
- Full-time one-time. Students complete one full semester or quarter of work.
- Integral. For certain institutions, co-ops are integral to their educational model, and most or all of their students participate. Thus, we have marked the co-op programs that are integral and receive a lot of emphasis from their institutions.
- Academic Credit. Some institutions offer academic credit to students for completing co-ops, which we have noted.
- Notes. We have included some highlights specific to each institution's co-op program.
Enjoy!
Author
Claire Luo is a graduate from The Harker School’s Class of 2021 who will be attending Stanford University in the Fall. |
Great Undergraduate Co-op Programs
College Kickstart LLC
Institution | State | Admit Rate (%) | Mid 50 SAT/ACT | Program Type | Integral | Academic Credit | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bradley University
|
IL | 73 | 1090-1270 22-28 |
Part-time, full-time, or full-time alternating |
|
||
Carnegie Mellon University
|
PA | 17 | 1460-1560 33-35 |
Full-time |
|
||
Case Western Reserve University
|
OH | 30 | 1350-1490 31-34 |
Full-time, 2 semester |
|
||
Clarkson University
|
NY | 75 | 1180-1350 23-30 |
Full-time, semester |
|
||
Clemson University
|
SC | 62 | 1230-1380 27-32 |
Full-time alternating or back-to-back |
|
||
Cornell University
|
NY | 9 | 1410-1530 32-35 |
Full-time, semester |
|
||
Drexel University
|
PA | 77 | 1190-1370 25-31 |
Alternating (3 or 1 co-op cycles) |
|
||
Elon University
|
NC | 78 | 1160-1310 25-30 |
Academic program |
|
||
Georgia Institute of Technology
|
GA | 18 | 1380-1520 29-34 |
Alternating semesters |
|
||
MIT
|
MA | 4 | 1520-1580 35-36 |
Full-time, six-month cycles |
|
||
Michigan State University
|
MI | 76 | 1110-1280 23-29 |
Alternating |
|
||
Northeastern University
|
MA | 20 | 1430-1540 33-35 |
Alternating semesters |
|
||
Purdue University
|
IN | 67 | 1210-1420 25-32 |
3-5 work sessions |
|
||
Rochester Institute of Technology
|
NY | 71 | 1220-1410 27-32 |
Alternating semesters |
|
||
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
|
IN | 77 | 1270-1440 27-33 |
Full-time |
|
||
Stevens Institute of Technology
|
NJ | 40 | 1340-1500 31-34 |
Alternating semesters |
|
||
State University of New York - Stony Brook
|
NY | 49 | 1240-1420 26-32 |
Parallel or alternating |
|
||
University of Toledo
|
OH | Alternating |
|
||||
University of Arkansas
|
AR | 78 | 1110-1270 23-29 |
Parallel or alternating |
|
||
University of Cincinnati
|
OH | 76 | 1120-1310 23-29 |
Alternating (Full-Time), part-time, or micro |
|
||
University of Georgia
|
GA | 39 | 1220-1390 27-32 |
Full-time |
|
||
University of Kentucky
|
KY | 96 | 1070-1310 22-29 |
Alternating semesters |
|
||
University of Tennessee - Knoxville
|
TN | 78 | 1140-1290 25-31 |
Full-time, alternating for engineering |
|
||
University of Vermont
|
VT | 67 | 1200-1360 26-31 |
Full-time, 6-9 month long |
|
||
Villanova University
|
PA | 25 | 1320-1460 30-33 |
Full-time, 6 month long |
|
||
Virginia Polytechnic Institute
|
VA | 66 | 1170-1370 25-31 |
Full-time or part-time |
|
||
Washington University in St. Louis
|
MO | 16 | 1450-1560 33-35 |
Full-time, 7-8 month long |
|
||
Wentworth Institute of Technology
|
MA | 94 | 1080-1260 23-28 |
Full-time, semesters |
|
||
West Virginia University
|
VA | 82 | 1050-1240 21-27 |
Alternating |
|
||
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
|
MA | 59 | 1320-1450 29-33 |
Full-time, 4-8 month long |
|
- Tags: Bradley, Carnegie Mellon, Case Western, Clarkson, Clemson, Cornell, Drexel, Elon, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Michigan State, MIT, Northeastern, Purdue, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rose-Hulman, Stevens Tech, SUNY - Stony Brook, Tennessee, University of Arkansas, University of Cincinnati, University of Georgia, University of Toledo, University of Vermont, Villanova, Virginia Tech, Washington University in St Louis, Wentworth Institute of Technology, West Virginia University, WPI
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