Cooperative Education
Graduate with more than just a diploma!
ENROLL FOR CO-OP
Cooperative Education (Co-op) at the University of Arkansas has a great tradition.. Over the years thousands of engineering students have participated in the program. Our students have gained experience related to their major locally, within the state, across the nation, and internationally. The experience gained by Co-op students allows them to step into their first full time positions ready to contribute in ways that other students cannot. The material shown below will give you the information you need to make the Co-op decision. If you have questions, please contact:
Dr. George Winter
Coordinator of Cooperative Education and Internships
Career Development Center
College of Engineering
University of Arkansas
Bell 3158
Phone: 479-575-2805
Fax: 479-575-7744
gwinter@uark.edu
Cooperative Education
- Cooperative Education (Co-op) is an academic program that allows students to gain practical work experience prior to graduation.
- Students work in either full or part-time, paid, degree-related jobs.
Forms of Cooperative Education: Alternating and Parallel
- In an alternating plan, you will alternate between semesters of on-campus study with semesters off-campus at your Co-op work site.
- In a parallel Co-op, you work part-time for a local company (15 to 25 hrs./week) and attend school at least half time.
- In either plan the student is considered a "full-time" student.
By participating in Cooperative Education, you can
- Gain hands-on experience in a real world setting
- Confirm the choice of your major
- Make valuable industry contacts
- Enhance your communication skills
- Make money ($12 - $18 per hour)
- Help insure an excellent job at graduation
Requirements and Conditions
Undergraduate Students:
- Must have completed 30 hours towards engineering degree
- Must have a minimum of 2.25 Cumulative GPA
- Students participating in a full-time Co-op must have 12 hours of course work remaining upon return to campus
Graduate Students
- Must have completed 6 hours toward engineering degree
- Must have a minimum of a 3.0 Cumulative GPA
- Students participating in a full-time Co-op must have 3 hours of course work remaining (not thesis, dissertation, or research)
- Must have approval of the Departmental Graduate Advisor prior to interviewing for Co-op positions
Transfer Students
- Must have completed one semester of full-time study in the College of Engineering
- Must meet all other Co-op requirements
F-1 Students
- Must have completed nine months of study in the United States
- Must meet all other Co-op requirements
Full-time Co-op assignments consist of the following scenarios:
- One semester away from campus (Spring, Summer, or Fall)
- One summer and one semester away from campus (Spring & Summer OR Summer & Fall)
- Alternating Semesters between Spring, Summer, and Fall
- Students who are away from campus for 2 semesters in one year, are eligible for only one semester away the following year. No more than 3 Co-op semesters in a 24 month period. (Exceptions to this must be approved in advance by their Departmental Co-op Representative.)
- Students who are going to be away from campus for the Fall and Spring semester in the same academic must receive prior approval from their Departmental Co-op Representative
What do past Co-op students say about their experiences:
“My Cooperative Education experience has given me an advantage over others by allowing me to build my work experience, enabling greater possibilities for the future. It has also unveiled the specific area in my field of study that I would like to pursue.”
–Brian Weir, Entergy
“You can't do this sitting in the classroom.”
–Gregory Sisti, The Boeing Company
“Participating in a Co-op program provides a chance to gain valuable work experience in one's field of interest. It also gives students an opportunity to apply some of the skills learned in school at the workplace. I feel that participating in this Co-op program has helped me to further define my career goals, while at the same time providing me a chance to gain some valuable knowledge about my field of study.”
–John Paul Smelko, Entergy
“The best way to gain real world experience in your field of study, improve communication skills, and challenge yourself to apply all that you have learned in class.”
–Nathan P. Russell, The Boeing Company
Partial List of Companies that recruit University of Arkansas Co-op students
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ABF Freight System Acxiom Corporation Aerotek Engineering Albemarle Corporation Alltel Corporation Almatis American Cast Iron Pipe Company APAC Arkansas McClinton Anchor Division Arkansas Department of Information Arkansas Highway & Transportation Department Arkansas Power Electronics International, Inc. Arvest Bank Benchmark Group BNSF Railway Buchart Horn, Inc. Building & Earth Sciences, Inc. Burns & McDonnell BWXT Pantex Career and Technical Education Cargill Meat Solutions CB&I (Howe-Baker Engineers, Ltd) CEI Engineering Associates, Inc. City of Little Rock Public Works Computers Guru Inc Cooper Power Systems Crafton Tull Sparks Cyntergy AEC Dal-Tile Corporation Dassault Falcon Jet Data-Tronics Corp. Dillards Information Systems Domtar Dow Chemical Company EaglePicher Eastman Chemical Company Engineering Consultants, Inc. Entergy Services Evergreen Packaging Fast Enterprises, LLC FedEx Freight Fluor Corp FM Global Frito-Lay FTN Associates, Ltd. General Mills GeoEngineers, Inc. Georgia Pacific Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company Green Bay Packaging Grubbs, Hoskyn, Barton & Wyatt, Inc. Halliburton Hayden Consultants, Inc. Hercules Incorporated International Paper J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc. Kaplan Test Prep Kawneer Company, Inc. (an Alcoa company) KENNAMETAL Kiewit Industrial KSA Engineers, Inc. Leggett & Platt, Incorporated Lennox Industries Lion Oil Company Lockheed Martin Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc. L'Oreal USA Lucidity Consulting Group Matrix Service Company Missouri Department of Transportation Mustang Technology Group Northrop Grumman Corporation Nucor Steel OGE Energy Corp. Oregon Department of Transportation Paul Mueller Company Penloyd LLC PERI Software Solutions Pine Bluff Arsenal PLASTIC INGENUITY, INC. ProSys, Inc. Raytheon Rheem Heating & Cooling Schlumberger Smith & Nephew Southwest Power Pool Spirit AeroSystems, Inc. Sunoco, Inc. SWEPCO/AEP TAMKO Building Products, Inc. Tenaris Terracon Consultants, Inc. The Hershey Co THE LPA GROUP INCORPORATED Tinker Air Force Base Civilian Employment Transplace Transportation Insight Trinity Consultants Tri-State Engineering Tyson Foods, Inc U of A - Operations Management UPS US Army Corps of Engineers US NAVY OFFICER RECRUITING USDA - NRCS ( Arkansas ) Valspar Vision Chain Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Washington Group International Westar Energy Weyerhaeuser Company Willbros Engineers, Inc. Windstream Communications |
Helpful links
University of Arkansas Career Development Center: http://career.uark.edu/
eRecruiting: http://erecruiting.uark.edu/
