Cooperative Education Work Program (Co-op)

The Missouri University of Science and Technology's cooperative education program, administered by Career Opportunities and Employer Relations (COER), is designed to provide students with an employment opportunity to gain practical degree-related, work experience prior to graduation. The program is set up so that students can take a break from studies and work full-time for one or for a combination of semesters such as spring/summer or summer/fall, allowing five to nine months of work experience versus the three summer months allowed for internship positions. Students may also obtain parallel co-op jobs in which they work and take classes on a part-time basis simultaneously. 

Co-op Benefits

  • Gain future employment advantage
  • Earn a higher starting full-time salary
  • Validate career plans
  • Option to earn academic credit in certain academic departments
  • Network with professionals and other college students
  • Apply classroom knowledge
  • Help finance college

Co-op Eligibility

To be eligible to participate in the co-op program, a student must satisfy the following requirements:

  • Be currently full-time degree seeking. (Full-time is defined as satisfactorily carrying and passing a minimum of 12 credit hours (9 credit hours for a graduate student) in a fall or spring semester)
  •  Have at least a cumulative GPA of 2.0 out of 4.0 to apply to and participate in the program
  •  Not be on any type of probation
  •  Other eligibility requirements may be established by the sponsoring company with Missouri S&T

If a student does not meet the eligibility requirements, they may use a Co-Op Waiver to petition to have these requirements waived. The Co-Op Waiver can be found on the COER website.

Missouri S&T Registration during Co-op

Students participating in the co-op program register each work term (summer, fall, and/or spring) with COER. To register a co-op experience with COER, a student can access an experience request form via Handshake.

  • Retaining scholarship(s) which require that the student be registered with the university
  • Maintaining continuously enrolled status for insurance and loan purposes
  • Not having to apply for readmission to Missouri S&T to attend classes following the co-op work term
  • Documentation of co-op participation on the student transcript

Credit for co-op is awarded at the discretion of the student’s academic department. Students must be registered with the university for work terms whether or not they are eligible to earn academic credit. Regular tuition rates apply based upon in-state/out-of-state tuition and the number of hours received. Students will also have additional fees assessed based on their co-op registration, other courses taken, and other factors. A breakdown of these fees can be found on the COER co-op page.

International Students

International students are required to register for co-op with COER in order to be legally eligible to obtain work authorization. International students must complete CPT paperwork with the office of International Student and Scholar Services first and then with COER. After completion and approval of paperwork, international students will receive work authorization and the necessary documentation to provide to their employer. After receiving CPT approval, COER will assist international students in enrollment into an appropriate co-op course. Enrollment cannot take place until after an international student has received CPT authorization. International students are not generally eligible to waive co-op requirements, but can use the waiver form for a co-op in consecutive terms. For more information about CPT requirements, please visit the ISSS website. 

More Information

For additional information concerning COER please contact:

Career Opportunities and Employer Relations
573-341-4343
http://career.mst.edu
career@mst.edu