Student Benefits and Responsibilities

Student Benefits to Completing an Internship or Co-op

  • Internships and co-ops help students evaluate career choices. Students who have co-op experiences utilize theories learned in class to help solve real employment problems.
  • A successful co-op experience can help students to design an academic plan appropriate for entering their desired career.
  • Co-ops can help students fund education. According to a study’s findings, appearing in the Journal of Career Planning and Employment, co-op students earned up to 24 dollars an hour.   Some co-op students receive additional benefits besides pay (i.e. relocation and/or living assistance).
  • Co-op employers reported making full-time employment offers to an average 65 percent of co-ops, with a 67.2 percent acceptance rate. Employers made offers to 56.9 percent of interns, 62.4 percent of which were accepted. (NACE Spotlight, August 2001)
  • Almost two-thirds (64.2 percent) of employers said they paid new, permanent, full-time hires with experiential education an average of 8.9 percent more than they would have offered a college graduate without that experience. (NACE Spotlight, August 2001)
  • Students who have internship or co-op experience with a company tend to have a lower turnover rate if hired for full-time employment than students without the co-op experience. This is typically because a co-op student gets to test out the company and see if there is a good fit between them and the company.

Responsibilities of Students Wishing to Receive Credit for an Internship or Co-op

  • Search and find an internship or co-op that fits with your career goals. For help with clarifying career goals, visit the Career Center or call 581-1359 for an appointment.
  • Get approval from your faculty coordinator for the internship that you have chosen.
  • Sign-up for the field experience course for your major.
  • Develop a learning contract detailing learning objectives, working in conjunction with your employer and faculty advisor.
  • Attend all training required by the company or organization.
  • Perform duties and conduct yourself in a professional manner while at the internship site.
  • Maintain required contact with your on-site supervisor and faculty coordinator.
  • Complete all required coursework dictated by the learning contract.