Co-op
Cooperative Education (co-op) is a program which allows students to obtain professional work experience while still in college. It is a unique opportunity for students to apply their academic preparation to "real world" settings and situations. Co-op programs provide students the opportunity to combine classroom study with periods of paid professional employment directly related to a student's major and career goals.
Benefits for Students
• Gain practical experience in your chosen field.
• Develop a professional network, contacts met will benefit in your career search.
• Acquire significant work experience to list on resumes and increase the value of their degrees.
• Earn Money! Students earn a source of income to assist with tuition and living costs while in college.
• Explore career and academic interests.
• Improve opportunities for jobs after graduation.
Criteria for Participation
- Students must have one semester as a degree-seeking student at Kent State University prior to the first co-op rotation.
- Students must be enrolled as a half-or-full-time student (minimum 6 credit hours) in the semester prior to enrollment in the cooperative education program.
- Students must have earned a minimum 2.0 overall GPA at the time of their co-op application.
- Students must have no holds on their student record from any source (financial, academic, conduct).
- Students must have received a completed grade and have resolved any outstanding non-completed grades for previous co-op rotations.
- There is no credit given for co-ops. However, the name of the organization will be displayed on transcript noting it was a co-op.
- Students are not permitted to start a co-op experience beyond the fourth week of the semester.
- University College will assess all applicants holistically, considering their academic progress, related experience, academic and extracurricular activities, among others, to evaluate students' likelihood of success in the program.
- Students must work 30-40 hours a week.
- Cooperative education position must directly relate to student's major or concentration
- Students must list the physical location's address where they will be working on the co-op application. For example, if there is a company headquarters, and the student is working at a branch rather than list the headquarters address, list the actual location of the branch the student will be located and working.
- Please note: the co-op experience is not available for international students.
Cost
$500 Cooperative Education fee, plus one-hour equivalent of the KSU general fee ($73.70). Once registered, these fees will be assessed to your student account. Fee can be waived for eligible students, this will be determined upon application to the program.
While on a cooperative education experience, students maintain full-time student status with the ability to access university services/resources (housing, health center, PARTA, library, campus event tickets, etc.), eligibility for loan deferment and insurance. Membership at the Recreation Center can be had for a reduced cost of $55 for the semester.
Financial Aid Eligibility
Students participating in a cooperative education program do not earn credit hours during the semester away. As a result, students are not eligible to receive federal or state grants, student loans, or institutional scholarships. However, students will be reported to their federal loan services as enrolled full-time, allowing for student loans to remain in the in-school deferment status and therefore not enter repayment.
Registration
Students must complete the application.
Contact
Contact Career Exploration and Development at 330-672-2360 or career@kent.edu with any questions.
