The Cooperative Education and Internship Programs at Southampton College play an active role in supporting the college's philosophy emphasizing experiential learning as an integral part of academic life. To meet this challenge, the Internship and Co-op staffs are dedicated to providing comprehensive experiential learning opportunities for all interested students by continuously developing worldwide placements.
Cooperative Education provides students with an opportunity to earn academic credit while employed in a paid, professional work setting prior to graduation.
Southampton's Co-op Program began in 1979 and is available in every academic division and major.
Southampton students become eligible for the Co-op program after the successful completion of one academic semester on campus and the five- session pre-placement workshop. Alternating periods of work and study are organized so that students may include two or three off-campus experiences before graduating. A significant advantage of the program is that students have an opportunity to clarify their career objectives while still in college.
Cooperative Education students earn six credits per semester while working off-campus in full-time positions. Parallel Co-ops allow students to work 15-20 hours each week, earning credits and a salary in proportion to the hours worked. A total of 18 Cooperative Education credits may be applied toward graduation requirements.
Co-op Facts
- Approximately 2700 Southampton students have held Co-op jobs since the inception of the program in 1979.
- 80% of all Southampton Co-op students have received offers of continued or permanent employment from their Co-op employers.
- Southampton Co-op students earned an average hourly salary of $7.95 in 1998-99.
- Southampton Co-op students have worked in 40 states and 24 foreign countries.
- The Southampton College Cooperative Education Program has received grant funding from the U.S. Department of Education under the Title VIII program.
The University offers an interest-free loan to cover the cost of the first alternating 3 credit Co-op credits for students who are placed prior to the start of the Junior year. This loan is forgiven upon graduation from Southampton College.
Co-op integrates classroom study with career-related professional training, allowing students to gain practical, paid work experience while earning academic credit toward a degree. As a part of the student's academic studies, Co-op employment differs dramatically from casual employment, because there are three partners in Co-op: the student, the college and the employer. The student uses Co-op to apply classroom theory in a real world setting. The college prepares the student to act professionally, to set reasonable learning objectives, and awards credit for the work experience. The employer provides meaningful employment, including orientation, supervision and training, and evaluates the student's on-the-job performance. This three-member strategy creates a win-win situation for all its partners!
Students may participate in Co-op either full-time or part-time during any academic semester, including Summer and Wintersession. Students are eligible for Co-op if they are in good academic standing (2.0 G.P.A. with a 2.25 major G.P.A.) after completion of one full-time semester of study. Students must complete our pre-placement workshop series which covers topics such as resume-writing, interviewing, success on the job, dealing with conflict, and ethics in the workplace. They must also get the approval of their academic advisors before being placed. This system helps ensure a successful placement. Once on the job, students must conform to all workplace regulations and standards of professionalism, company policies and schedules.
10 hours/week |
1 credit |
min. 120 hours |
11-14 hours/week |
2 credits |
min. 132 hours |
15-19 hours/week |
3 credits |
min. 180 hours |
20-24 hours/week |
4 credits |
min. 240 hours |
25-29 hours/week |
5 credits |
min. 300 hours |
30-40 hours/week |
6 credits |
min. 360 hours |
Credits are awarded based on the number of hours worked (students are expected to work a minimum of 12 weeks in a semester, except during Wintersession, when they work full-time for 5 weeks and earn 1-2 credits).
Most students do more than one Co-op. They may earn as many as 18 Co-op credits - which count as electives - toward their 128-credit degree requirement. Co-op is graded on a Pass/Fail basis, based in part on a successful evaluation by the on-site supervisor and completion of a final paper which is graded by a faculty sponsor.
