What is Cooperative Education?

How do I get a job without any experience? How do I get experience without having a job? This is a dilemma that many college students face as they prepare themselves for graduation and beyond. Cooperative Education (Co-op) and Internships allow students to combine classroom learning with professional work experience in their chosen field of study. The program is based on the belief that learning extends beyond the classroom and that the combination of course learning and practical work experience provides an innovative and comprehensive education.

Under the supervision of both a sponsoring employer and the appropriate academic department, participants secure paid, career-related work experience. They spend three to nine months on Co-op assignments and earn from one to eight hours of credit per semester.

Co-op requires course registration. Registered Co-op students enjoy full-time student status, regardless of the number of credits they are taking, and pay tuition based on the cost per credit. We currently have 37 undergraduate and 10 graduate majors that offer Cooperative Education .

What is an Internship? 

An internship is another experiential learning experience which is very similar to a Co-op. The basic difference between the two is that a Co-op is always a paid, credit generating experience whereas an internship may or may not be paid, and you may or may not get course credit as well. Internships are often one-time work experiences that you may only participate in once, while students may return to Co-op positions over the course of several semesters.

What do you mean I have to do homework?

The assessment learning cycle at UND includes the following elements:

As an accredited course at UND, Cooperative Education follows certain guidelines, which includes assessment. All students enrolled in Co-op are required to complete ALL of the homework assignments for each semester that they are enrolled in Co-op.

Two Ways To Complete Your Co-op Homework Assignments

We have two ways to complete your Co-op homework assignments: online and offline. The Online Homework System allows you to click on the assignment that is due, fill in the form, and submit by email. The email will go to the Cooperative Education office and your Faculty Co-op Coordinator. You will also receive a confirmation email. The Offline Homework System will allow you to download and print each of the homework assignments. You then fill out the forms and mail them to the Cooperative Education office,who will send a copy to your Faculty Co-op Coordinator.