About Co-op:

The Professional Cooperative Education Program at UML provides full-time undergraduate students the opportunity to integrate classroom knowledge by applying what they have learned to real-world work experience. Students participate in paid full-time work experience while maintaining their status as a full-time student and don’t pay tuition, since they are not taking classes during this time. The program structure includes three phases: Professional Development Seminar, Co-op Experience and Assessment. The Professional Development Seminar is a graded one credit course that prepares the student for the co-op search and experience. Upon successful completion of the seminar, the student is eligible to go participate in a 6 or 3 month paid experience. Once the student returns to campus, they complete a graded assessment class to fulfill the program requirements. Some students will take advantage of doing a second co-op as long as they can complete program requirements prior to graduating. 

Program Eligibility:

Students eligible for co-op are full-time, undergraduate, sophomores and above in the Colleges of Engineering, Sciences and Business. Students must also be in good academic standing and submit an application the semester before they wish to begin the program. Application information can be found on our website and the application is open for the Spring ’22 program.

Partnerships with Employers:

Our relationship with employer partners continues to grow each year. Each semester, new positions are posted on Handshake, our job board for students and alumni. Co-op positions are only available to students in the co-op program and the majority of students will participate in a 6 month experience. Some of our premier partners include Raytheon, UKG, MFS, Pfizer, P&G and Dell.

Academic Credit:

Students earn 1 credit in the Professional Development Seminar Course and anywhere from 1 to 3 credits in the Assessment Course depending on the length of the co-op experience and their academic program. Credits are applied differently based on the student’s major. Consult with the Cooperative Education department to determine how the credits will be applied in your student’s respective college.

What can your student do to learn more?

Encourage your Riverhawk to learn more about the Co-op Program by attending an upcoming information session, join a daily “Drop-In” session or make an appointment with a co-op advisor. All of which can be found on our website: Professional Cooperative Education | Student Affairs & University Events | UMass Lowell (uml.edu)

Student Testimonials:

“My co-op experience really helped me learn and understand what it takes to work in a professional laboratory. My co-op took place at a small startup, which means I got the opportunity to work closely with professional engineers and scientists on advanced projects using equipment I didn’t even know existed. If it weren’t for the co-op program, I don’t think I would have found this small company, nor would I have been able to learn as much as I did in a 6-month period. Overall, my experience was great, and I was even offered extended employment after my 6-month period was finished!”

-Derek Lovejoy, Junior, Chemical Engineering

“Thanks to my experiences in the co-op program, my career path has never been more clear. I have obtained and refined skills in the finance and marketing fields that I didn’t think was possible at this stage of my academic career. I highly recommend the co-op program to anyone looking to enhance their skills and better prepare themselves for life post college.” 

-Mark Maloomian, Senior, Finance Concentration: Business

“I believe the co-op experience was the most important part of my journey at UMass Lowell. I was able to work at a great company, like Bose Corporation, to gain real working experience.”

-Anonymous, Computer Science student