Internships & Co-ops
A Step Ahead
It's only common sense. The best place to get
real-world professional experience is in the real world. That's why learning
by working "on-the-job" is
smart. And through the Career Center at Clarkson, you can do this in a professional
co-op or internship.
The co-op (cooperative education) program enables you to be paid by a business or government organization for doing a job in your field. You work on site with professionals during a semester and a summer. Internships typically last just a semester or take place over summer break, and often involve non-profits or government agencies.
You just can't beat this kind of experience. A co-op ramps up your practical skills in a demanding professional environment to put you a step ahead of the competition for that first job after college. Corporate recruiters are happy to see such actual experience — and the ambition it represents.
Co-ops and internships are a way for you to make vital connections with professionals in your field and increase your value to merit a higher starting salary. And the perspectives you gain will make you a stronger student.
A brief cross section of the places where our students have recently landed resume-building internships and paying co-ops: Carrier, Kodak, Procter and Gamble, NBC, General Electric, IBM, Harvard and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Center.
Cooperative Education
Not only can you hone your technical and business skills
while working in the complexity of a professional setting, through a co-op experience
you can also "test drive" your career choice — and a potential employer
— before graduation.
You'll typically engage in a full-time co-op experience during the fall semester of your junior year, return to Clarkson for the spring semester, and then spend the following summer working for the employer. However, there is plenty of flexibility to allow you to design a schedule that best meets your needs.
The key to a successful co-op experience is to work closely with your academic advisor to review your academic plan and determine how you will make up the work missed while on co-op. Among the options for making up work are: attending summer school, pushing back your graduation date, using any AP credits or overloading (taking more than 15 credit hours per semester) during the academic year. A co-op student is considered a full-time student.
Internships
Clarkson typically places interns in government agencies and major
corporations, such as General Electric, Carrier, IBM, Kodak and NASA. Internships
are available in every academic major as early as the summer of your first year. Special workshops
are designed to prepare students for their internship search and each intern
works closely with an advisor.
While most internships are paid, some provide both a stipend and academic credit; others are for academic credit only.
Find out more from our Career Center.
