Co-Op
AUC Career Center is collaborating with AUC School of Business to provide the students with the opportunity to complete a Co-Op experience at one of the carefully selected host entities for the duration of six months under the supervision of one the faculty members.
What is a Co-Op?
Cooperative Education (Co-Op) is a pre-graduation experiential learning course that complements the academic education in the classroom with real-world on-the-job training. The course offers students the opportunity to have long-term hands-on experience at host entities with a set of challenging responsibilities that are directly linked to the students’ field of study. For employers, the program gives them the chance to meet short-term recruitment needs, spot future talent and contribute to students’ skills and career development.
Why Join the Co-Op Program?
The Co-Op program is advantageous to students as it helps them:
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Complement their Learning Experience: By applying what they have learned in the classroom to real-world challenges.
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Develop their Skillset: Through the hands-on approach and the regular feedback, they receive from both their faculty supervisor and professionals in the field.
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Enhance their Career Readiness: By participating in the Co-Op course, students gain long-term work experience before graduation which increases their employability and career readiness relative to their peers.
Program Features
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- Longer duration. Working six months on a full-time basis.
- A supervising faculty mentor will guide the students throughout the Co-Op journey.
- The Co-Op is co-graded by the faculty and the employer.
- All Co-Op positions are carefully secured by the Career Center and have been reviewed by the Career Center and the faculty supervisor.
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Students interested to apply to the Co-Op course should satisfy the following criteria:
- Declared within the School of Business with junior standing or higher at the start of Co-Op.
- An overall GPA of 3.2 or higher at the time of application.
- A supporting recommendation letter from faculty.
- A prior well-documented internship is preferable.
- Active engagement in extracurricular activities is preferable.
- Feedback from AUC selection panel.
- Acceptable performance on Co-Op partner’s assessment(s) as applicable.
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Students will be engaged on a full-time basis with the Co-Op host for six months and have two possible time windows; spring and summer (February – July) or fall and winter (August – January).
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Hosts can include multinational corporations, startups, financial institutions, governmental entities, professional services firms, think tanks, local/international economic and monetary bodies, non-profit organizations, and other entities.
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- Registration: No concurrent courses are allowed during the six months Co-Op experience.
- Graduation: The Co-Op semester cannot be the final one. Students would need to have the remaining courses to register in the following semester.
- Grading: Co-evaluation by the faculty member and Co-Op partner/employer.
- Compensation: Co-Op students receive monthly stipends from Co-Op employers that differ from one employer to another.
- All students applying to the Co-Op course will be considered automatically for limited competitive partial scholarships and will be notified of the decision of the scholarship upon selection.
