To maintain the academic standards of the program, the Engineering Professional Practice Program reports to the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies in the College of Engineering. All students alternate full time studies on campus with full time periods at work in positions related to the students’ majors and career goals. The work periods overlap semesters when school is in session.

Students work a minimum of 52 weeks in several work terms with the same employer. At work, students are subject to all the rules and regulations of regular employees at your organization and each work term is recorded on their transcripts. Students at work are monitored by Program personnel with both students and supervisors submitting a series of reports to the Engineering Professional Practice program. Similarly, students in school are also monitored to be sure progress is being made toward degree completion.

In 2004, over 40% of the students in the College of Engineering participated in the Cooperative Engineering Program. Over 490 employers are registered with the Program, the majority of them are located in the southeast.

To participate in the Cooperative Engineering Program students must be enrolled in one of the following programs of study:

A student’s work and school schedule may be something like the example below.  Other patterns can also be used, based on the needs of the student and the employer.

Active participants in the Cooperative Engineering Program alternate full time academic study terms at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, with full time work terms with business, government and industry. Work and study terms overlap each other and are of approximately equal length. This employment must be related to the student’s field of study and subsequent work terms should carry more responsibility and difficulty. Students remain with the same employer throughout the duration of their involvement with the Co-op Program.

In order to participate in the Co-op Engineering Program students must register with the Program on our web site. They then attend required preparatory workshops and seminars and submit required paperwork to the Co-op Office. The paperwork includes a Co-op Agreement, a Resume, an Official Transcript, and a Degree Plan approved by the student’s academic advisor.

Students can begin their programmed patterns of work and study anytime after successfully completing the Freshman year at the University of Tennessee and no later than halfway through their Junior year. All Co-op activity must be completed before the student’s final semester in school before graduation. In order to participate in the Co-op Program students must be registered with the University of Tennessee as full time students and must be full time students at the Knoxville campus between each work term in order to remain in the Co-op Program.

To receive a certificate of completion, students must work a minimum of 52 weeks. Spring and Fall work terms are 19 and 20 weeks in length, respectively. The Summer work term is 13 weeks long. Academic schedules permitting, students sometimes elect to work more than the 52-week minimum by adding more work terms. Typically, students work at least three sessions and graduate one semester later than students who choose not to participate.