20 Colleges with Co-op Programs

What’s Covered:

• What Are Co-op Programs?

• Differences Between Co-Op Programs vs. Internships

• Benefits of Co-Op Programs

• 20 Colleges with Co-Op Programs

• What Are Your Chances of Acceptance?

Co-op programs provide students with the opportunity to gain hands-on learning experiences, often while earning college credit and receiving compensation. In this post, we’ll give some background on these programs and share some top schools with co-ops.

What are Co-op Programs?

“Co-op” is short for “cooperative education,” an experiential approach that alternates between classroom education and paid on-the-job learning. It provides students with professional experience in their field of study and anticipated career choice.

Herman Schneider pioneered the co-op model in 1906 as the Dean of Engineering at the University of Cincinnati. Today, approximately 60 U.S. colleges and universities offer co-op programs—often in the STEAM fields, such as engineering, information technology, applied science, design, and architecture. Many students’ co-op experiences are at companies with which their college has developed a strategic partnership, while other students forge their own co-op employment opportunities that their college approves.

At some schools, co-op is optional; for others, it is a requirement. Check carefully, as even at Northeastern University—an institution known for its top-tier co-op program—doing a co-op is highly encouraged, but not required. Undergraduate co-op programs typically last a semester or year and are part of a four- to five-year course of study combining classroom and experiential learning.

The Difference Between Co-op Programs and Internships

While not definitive, the following summary helps clarify typical differences between co-op programs and internships.

Benefits of Co-op Programs

A co-op education offers students many potential advantages. Co-op students build relevant on-the-job experience, which typically leads to improved performance in the classroom. They also often have a smoother transition from college to a career, as they’ve developed firsthand knowledge of the hard and soft skills required of a profession.

Many co-op students are hired by their placement employers—both sides get to “try before they buy.” Even those who aren’t hired leave with a strong resume, giving them an advantage in the job market or graduate school admissions. Further bolstering the profile of some co-op students is the opportunity to live in a different part of the country or world, along with the chance to experience business travel and professional conferences.

Lastly, co-op students earn income to help pay for college without decreasing their eligibility for need-based financial aid. Co-op wages don’t count toward Expected Family Contribution and may even reduce federal taxes on co-op income.

20 Colleges with Co-op Programs

More Details about 6 Co-op Programs 

1. Cornell University

Cornell is a private Ivy League university and the land-grant university for New York State. Cornell’s mission is to “discover, preserve and disseminate knowledge, to educate the next generation of global citizens, and to promote a culture of broad inquiry throughout and beyond the Cornell community. Cornell also aims, through public service, to enhance the lives and livelihoods of students, the people of New York, and others around the world.”

Although not widely recognized for co-op, Cornell offers coordinated co-op opportunities through its College of Engineering for students affiliated with engineering majors.

Learn more about Cornell and see your chances of acceptance.

2. Drexel University

Drexel University has been a co-op pioneer since 1919—operating one of the largest programs in the U.S. An abundance of businesses and industrial, governmental, and other institutions “cooperate” with Drexel in offering students the opportunity to acquire practical employment experience related to college studies.

Drexel’s International Co-op program provides opportunities for students to live and work abroad. International co-op students come from a variety of majors and work on nearly every continent. In recent co-op cycles, students have worked in countries including Brazil, China, Greece, Ireland, India, and Japan.

Learn more about Drexel and see your chances of acceptance.

3. Elon University

Elon values experiential learning and facilitates student involvement in global engagement, service, leadership, internships, and research experiences. To enable more experiential learning opportunities, Elon requires students to complete fewer, more intensive classes.

Elon also offers an atypical co-op experience—it’s more like an internship. Students can earn elective credit, not credit in their major or minor, for a co-op assignment. (Students who find an experience that relates to their major/minor must receive departmental approval for the experience to be considered an internship.)

A co-op/internship is treated like a regular course for credit with a letter grade. Regular tuition charges apply. Students must work a minimum of 40 hours for every credit received during the term. Most students utilize a co-op as a career exploration experience. Students may co-op during any semester, and the co-op is included in students’ full-time tuition.

Learn more about Elon and see your chances of acceptance.

4. Georgia Institute of Technology | Georgia Tech

The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, is a public research university and institute of technology. Considered a top public university, the school offers roughly 40 majors.

Georgia Tech introduced its co-op program in 1912, and today students participate in the five-year co-op programs in engineering, science, or business—working for at least three alternating semesters.

Learn more about Georgia Tech and see your chances of acceptance.

5. Northeastern University

Through coursework, co-op employment, research, global study, and service, Northeastern prepares students to be innovative problem solvers and entrepreneurs with the skills and experiences to make an impact in the world.

The school’s co-op program is a distinguishing feature of this top-tier university. Established in 1909, it is one of the oldest co-op programs in the nation. It is also one of the broadest, including opportunities worldwide in approximately 150 countries, across a broad spectrum of fields. (Northeastern offers undergraduates 329 majors, 8 colleges and programs, and 199 combined majors.)

An impressive 96% of Northeastern graduates are employed or enrolled in graduate school within nine months after graduation. You may be surprised to learn that co-op isn’t required. The vast majority of students do participate, and all students must complete some version of experiential learning.

Learn more about Northeastern and see your chances of acceptance.

6. Northwestern University

Northwestern’s Walter P. Murphy Cooperative Engineering Education Program provides an engineering degree from a top-tier university as well as up to 18 months of engineering industry experience from one or two employers.

Co-op students are registered in a non-credit course during work periods to maintain full-time student status, coverage under the family’s health insurance at student rates, and so that student loans do not go into repayment. Co-op students are also eligible for a tuition discount in their final year of study, typically the fifth year.

Learn more about Northwestern and see your chances of acceptance.

What Are Your Chances of Acceptance?

To better understand your chances at the schools listed above, or others you find on your own, we recommend using our free admissions calculator. Using your grades, test scores, extracurriculars, and more, we’ll estimate your odds of acceptance, and give you tips on improving your profile!