Employer

Co-op includes three parties, SMU and the Cooperative Education Office in the School of Engineering, the student, and the employer. 

This partnership works to provide structured, supervised, paid, professional and educational development for students who work for the employer 40 or more hours per week during alternating semesters.

Below is a description of what each party provides to achieve this goal.

Provided by SMU Cooperative Education:

• Student applicants who qualify for SMU's Co-op Program. Students have a GPA of 2.0 or above and are enrolled in the School of Engineering and Applied Science. These students have spent between 15 and 20 hours in preparation for the program before the SMU Cooperative Education Office sends their application.
• Committed students who want to receive training and development from an employer before graduation. These students have decided to delay their graduation by one year in order to gain real world educational experience in their field.
• Applications, degree plans, and transcripts of students (after receiving detailed job description).

Student Agrees to:

• Earn the right to work subsequent terms based up on work performance.
• Return to work each term shown on the degree plan unless the employer is unable to re-hire the student because of budget cuts or the job performance is unacceptable.
• Perform professional work indicative of the class level completed.
• Follow company policies related to personnel, safety, health, security, and non-disclosure of confidential/proprietary information.
• Provide housing, unless the employer supplies accommodations.
• Maintain satisfactory academic progress.

Employer Provides:

• Written duties and responsibilities which increase in subsequent work terms.
• Detailed job description for each professional position.
• Employment related to the major or career choice of the student.
• Provides educational and professional development for the student.
• Salary commensurate with the level and skills required. Co-op salaries are approximately 60% to 90% of the salary for a new graduate position.
• Quality supervision from a trained professional in the co-op student's area of interest with written evaluation at the end of each work term.
• Compliance with the Equal Employment Opportunity Act and The Americans With Disabilities Act.