Cooperative Education & Internships

Hands-on experience before graduation

Employers prefer to hire graduates with hands-on experience in their majors. As a student at the University of North Texas, you will have the opportunity to enhance your classroom learning with practical experience and gain a competitive edge in the job market.

This work experience can be gained through cooperative education (co-op) or an internship. These opportunities provide real-world experience and insight into your future career.

Students involved in internships or co-ops usually return to the classroom with greater determination to make good grades and complete their degrees. They realize a college degree will help them advance in their chosen professions.

Cooperative Education

Cooperative education integrates classroom theory with paid positions that are designed to provide multiple semesters of work experience specific to a particular major. More than 1,800 employers, including the Dallas Cowboys, Frito-Lay, IBM, J.C. Penney, and many government agencies, such as the Central Intelligence Agency list co-op positions at UNT. Co-op positions are available for students in most majors.

To participate in cooperative education as an undergraduate, you must complete 12 semester hours at UNT with a minimum 2.5 grade point average, which must be maintained. As a graduate student, you must complete 9 semester hours at UNT with a minimum 3.0 GPA, maintain a 3.0 and have been accepted into a graduate degree program. You should also have at least two full semesters remaining before graduation. The optimum time for beginning your co-op experience is during your sophomore or junior year.

Cooperative education offers a variety of programs, all providing valuable experience in your major. The Parallel Co-op will allow you to work part time (20-25 hours a week) while attending classes at UNT. The Alternating Co-op will alternate semesters of work and school, with students working full time for a semester and returning to school full time the following semester. Both programs will require a commitment of two or more semesters of work.

If you meet the above requirements and are not graduating during the current semester, visit www.unt.edu/coop to get enrolled. After you complete the necessary paperwork, the co-op coordinator assigned to your major will interview you, assess your skills and discuss available positions.

The employers to whom you are referred will determine which candidates they wish to hire based on academic performance, course work, maturity and other information gathered during the competitive interview process. The office of Cooperative Education and Internships does not guarantee placement.

All positions listed as co-op are paid positions. Your salary will depend on your major, the employer, the job's location, the position and your qualifications. Many co-op students earn enough to pay their daily living expenses, with enough left over to pay some of their UNT tuition. An additional benefit of cooperative education is that most employers make permanent job offers to their best co-op students upon graduation.

Academic credit from your major department is part of the co-op program. Departmental policies vary concerning the course registration, but Cooperative Education and Internships will guide you through the process.

Internships

Companies throughout Texas and other states contact UNT seeking interns. Internships are listed at the office of Cooperative Education and Internships or posted on bulletin boards and web sites in the academic departments. A central database of internships is available to you by accessing www.unt.edu/coop.

Internships may be paid or unpaid, full or part time. Internships are available year round, but the most popular internships are those that are full-time work for a summer. Academic credit may be earned for most of these positions. If the internship is for academic credit, you may have to complete certain courses as prerequisites or obtain permission from your department chair before beginning work in the position.

Some majors require that you complete an internship to graduate. In all cases, the Cooperative Education and Internships staff members can give you assistance and information about obtaining an internship in your major.

Office Location

The office of Cooperative Education and Internships is in Marquis Hall, Room 208.