Cooperative education is an educational program that combines classroom theory with challenging work experiences in a field related to a student’s academic studies and career goals. The Cooperative Engineering Program has a rich tradition at the University of Tennessee, starting in 1926. Thousands of students and employers have realized the benefits of Program participation. Students are employed in full time, paid positions in industry (see recent Salary Averages), business, or government alternated with full time periods of study at the University of Tennessee. Work terms are in professional and structured settings with subsequent assignments carrying more difficulty and responsibility. Throughout the Co-op experience, a system of evaluation and reporting is in place so all parties: the employer, the student, and the university, are informed of the student’s progress.

The Program allows you to select the students you want and have them with you long enough to make a significant contribution to your organization. This allows you to participate in the education of our students by exposing them to state-of-the-art methods and helping them achieve their goals by receiving an exemplary education not offered in the classroom alone. After the prescribed number of work terms is complete, you are under no further obligation. However, experience shows that employers use Co-op Programs to prescreen students for permanent positions and students often accept offers from their Co-op employers when they graduate.

Cooperative Engineering students alternate full time work with full time study at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The work students perform is directly related to their majors. As they progress through the program and gain more confidence in themselves, the contributions they will be able to make to your organization will become more significant.