Cooperative Education

Cooperative Education (Co-op) brings together the worlds of classroom study and practical, professional experience in the field, with powerful and positive benefits for both students and employers.

The Co-op Program at CSUS is the largest program in California. It is also one of the most diverse, placing students from almost all academic majors in Co-op positions.

Co-op reinforces and expands critical thinking skills by combining a traditional academic curriculum with practical applications, but it is more than an ordinary internship. What distinguishes the work experiences as Cooperative Education is the formal agreement between the student, employer, and the University that the position will be academically related, supervised, evaluated, and salaried appropriate for academic credit.

Cooperative Education enables students to define clearly their educational and career objectives through career-related work experience prior to graduation. Co-op is a partnership between the University and employers from government, industry, business, education, and nonprofit organizations