Co-ops: Launching a Career Before Graduation

Souped up internships known as co-ops may give graduates a competitive advantage in a tight job market, but taking five years to graduate isn't for everybody

By Francesca Di Meglio

(This story has been corrected to clarify the disadvantages faced by co-op program participants in the ninth paragraph.)

Cooperative learning programs, also known as co-ops, allow undergraduate students the opportunity to try their hand at working full-time in the real world while pursuing their college degree. It's a taste of adulthood that many soon-to-be college graduates credit with sheltering them from the economic storm and helping them land full-time jobs for after graduation. "Students with co-op experience have a leg up on the competition because they have the one thing you can't get in a classroom—practical work experience," says Ian P. Sladen, assistant dean of undergraduate programs at Drexel University's LeBow College of Business (LeBow Undergraduate Business Profile) in Philadelphia.

Two of the most renowned undergraduate co-op programs are at LeBow and Northeastern University's College of Business Administration (Northeastern Undergraduate Business Profile) in Boston.Students at both schools rave about the co-op programs, but it's unclear whether those work experiences provide any kind of competitive advantage.At Northeastern, which ranked at No.27 in Bloomberg BusinessWeek's most recent ranking of undergraduate business programs, Associate Dean Peggy Fletcher says that every year about 90% of the graduating class has been placed in a job by graduation—a figure more common among more highly ranked programs. But at No. 68 Drexel, less than half the class of 2009 was unemployed at graduation, one of the worst placement records among programs tracked by Bloomberg BusinessWeek.

Unlike internships, co-ops have students taking six months to work full-time in a particular organization without attending classes. Some of these students work in cities outside of their university's campus, or even overseas. Many work two or three six-month co-ops, finishing their undergraduate degree in five years. Although students usually have to interview for these programs, schools have developed long-lasting relationships with employers and help match students to different companies in their area of interest. Drexel's program is more than 80 years old, and Northeastern's program is 100. Students in other parts of the university participate in cooperative learning programs in industries relevant to their studies, too. The overwhelming majority of business students who participate in co-op programs get paid. Drexel's undergraduate business students earn, on average, about $14,000 and Northeastern's about $16,000 during a six-month co-op.

A Path to Higher Earnings

Students at schools with co-op programs feel they've been given a jump start on their careers—and therefore their potential earnings. Both Drexel and Northeastern, where 2009 average base salaries were $47,957 and $53,350, respectively, handily beat the national average for undergraduates in business

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