Cooperative Education Program

The University of Michigan is proud to work hand in hand with industry to promote a healthy high-tech future for America. The Cooperative Education Program enables students to alternate school and work terms and apply their skills to the work setting. Ideally, co-op is eight-months of hands-on engineering experience, occurring either May through December or January through August.

Our Cooperative Education Program offers many advantages to participating employers:

  • Co-op students can and do make productive contributions to their co-op employer.
  • Co-op students returning to school contribute to your positive image on campus.
  • Students can facilitate communication between faculty and employer.
  • You can recruit and select co-op students to meet your company’s current and future personnel needs.
  • You gain an experienced, trained employee by offering a permanent starting position to a former co-op student after graduation.
  • Permanent employees recruited and hired through a cooperative education program have higher retention rates

The Cooperative Education Program at the Engineering Career Resource Center has set the following guidelines for participating employer companies:

  • Your support of the University of Michigan’s academic standards is requested. Work assignments should reflect a student’s level of technical ability.
  • Work experience should supplement and utilize the co-op student’s background while enhancing the student’s educational development.
  • We require that salary be commensurate with ability, experience, and responsibility.
  • The co-op student should be supervised by a manager who can effectively offer guidance and counseling during the work session. The student should be counseled regarding job performance at the end of each work term.
  • We ask that the supervisor send a written evaluation of the co-op student’s performance to the College of Engineering Co-op Coordinator at the completion of a work term.

Engineering Career Resource Center
230 Chrysler Center • 2121 Bonisteel Blvd. • Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2092
Phone: (734) 647-7160 • Fax: (734) 647-7141