Are you the kind of person who learns best through experience? Do you like to try things out for yourself? Do you like to test the theories you’ve been taught and find out what does and doesn’t work in the real world? If so, you should take a closer look at RIT’s cooperative education (co-op) program.

For more than 90 years, the hallmark of an RIT education has been the practical, paid work experience provided through cooperative education. RIT was among the first universities to begin cooperative education back in 1912, and today our co-op program is the fourth oldest and one of the largest in the world. Because of its success, RIT’s co-op program is well known and highly respected.

Cooperative education at RIT will take you beyond books and lectures into the real world. You may design integrated circuits for a major computer firm in Silicon Valley, take photographs in Europe for Time magazine or develop a marketing plan for a large advertising firm in Rochester. Whatever you do, our cooperative education program will give you the experience you need to set yourself apart from other graduates in your career field.

Experience That Pays
If you enroll in a co-op program at RIT, you will have between six and 15 months of paid work experience completed by the time you graduate. You will have worked for as many as five different employers in locations across the country. Whether you work in a large industrial laboratory, a world-renowned medical facility or a software development firm in your hometown, you’ll have a good idea of what you’re looking for in your career after graduation. You can also sample the lifestyles found in different parts of the United States (or the world) while you explore career opportunities through co-op. Upon graduation, you’ll be able to choose the place and position that are right for you.

RIT co-op also gives you the chance to test what you’ve learned in the classroom in real-world situations. When you’re in a lab testing a new theory in quantum physics, reading a textbook on cognitive psychology or computing net present value in a finance problem, you may wonder how your studies fit your future career. Our co-op program gives you a chance to find out. If you’re like many RIT students, understanding how theoretical knowledge is actually used in the work place will give you the incentive you need to work harder when you come back to campus for your academic quarters.

While you’re working on co-op, you’ll meet other professionals in your field. You’ll be able to consult with them on professional issues and talk with them about your goals. These professional contacts can help you identify job openings in your field and get you started on the road to your lifetime career goals.

Co-op also helps you pay for your college education. At RIT, no tuition is charged for the quarters you are employed as a co-op student. Instead, your employer will pay you a full-time salary. Last year, RIT co-op students earned more than $20 million. Refer to our salary data to find out how much you can expect to earn through co-op. You’ll find that your co-op earnings can go a long way toward helping you finance your RIT education.

RIT's cooperative education brochure is available for you to download.

Real Co-op Experience
Real-world experience empowers RIT’s graduates with a marketable edge. Co-op provides the opportunity to put classroom lectures, textbook theories, and your personal initiative to the test in a true work environment.

Below are examples of co-op experiences shared by RIT students. Read on a get an idea of the variety of jobs our students have held.

Kurt Alfred Kluever: My Googley Adventure
Computer Science student

I had an excellent summer at Google. The atmosphere at Google is completely different than any other corporate environment that I've ever heard of. I typically put in 12+ hour days (including time for lunch, dinner, tech talks, the gym, etc) because I enjoyed being at work so much! It very much has the feel of a college campus, only you're getting paid a salary instead of paying tuition! People are always cheerful and willing to help out one another. Maybe it's because instead of dreading coming to work every day, Googlers actually look forward to coming in --- I know I did! [read more about Kurt's great experience at Google]

Sarah Weeden: A Whirlwind Tour of the Advertising Industry
Interview by M.E. Donovan

Advertising photography majors can take their degrees in a thousand
different directions. Sarah Weeden chose the corporate track. At 21 years old, this Bristol, NY native used the co-op experience to shape her career path and start planning for her future.

What were your main duties?
I assisted Jon Hrichak, Wegmans' corporate photographer. My responsibilities in the beginning were mainly to provide basic assistance with setup and break down in the studio and on location, to organize and archive the photography, and help with studio management. As I gained more independence I took over a portion of the product photography that went into Menu Magazine and weekly ads.

What was your first day like? Were you nervous? Were you put in the spotlight in any way?
My first day was a total whirlwind. Jon took me around and introduced me to everyone as “the new intern,” and I tried to retain everyone's name. I had a tour of Corporate Wegmans, which is enormous. There are almost four thousand employees at Corporate. And of course I remembered all their names.

Did you make any mistakes during your job? How did you correct them?
I was late on the first day. I definitely got completely lost trying to find the Corporate office.

But I remember my boss commenting on that once, saying that he was actually impressed with how well I dealt with the "situation," and that it showed him I could handle pressure well. So that worked out!

What was your biggest accomplishment during the co-op?
After time, I gained the respect and confidence of Jon and the Wegmans Advertising Team, and I was given a substantial amount of responsibility shooting assignments. If Jon had to

leave for any reason, I was his replacement in the studio. And of course it feels like an accomplishment and it is a great feeling to go pick up a Menu Magazine and see your photos!

Looking back, would you change anything you did
Besides being late on the first day? I suppose I would strengthen myorganizational skills even more; my experience with the corporate environment has shown me the importance of organization and time management. An assistant's job is to keep the photographer organized, because things in a studio can get pretty hectic.

Why did you choose to continue working at Wegmans?
Well, the food of course! But honestly, I continued through the year because I was asked to, and the days when the workload was the heaviest for Jon were conveniently the days I was available to come in to the studio. I hope to retain my ties with Wegmans for years to come, for not only have I made professional contacts, I have met many wonderful people who have helped me to grow personally and professionally.

Do you hope to work for them in the future?
If a position with the Advertising Department were to open up, I would most definitely consider applying. The Wegmans Team is a great environment to work in. With my pending design education, and with my experience in the photographic field, I am sure there would be a few positions that I would be well suited for.

How do you feel your co-op prepared you for future work?
My internship provided me with the ability and confidence to be prepared for a variety of situations. I was able to see how designers, creative leaders, copyrighters, and photographers work together. Like a design agency, the teams work to produce work for clients within the company, much like an ad agency would work.

Did the co-op help you to hone in or find a particular area of photography that interested you the most?
After working with the Advertising Department and working with the Creative Team at Wegmans, I felt not only more prepared, but even more motivated to pursue a career inadvertising. When making my career choice to go into art direction, I could not have worked at a better company to provide me with the background to make that decision.

What are your plans for the future?
Getting into grad school is my first priority, as I am planning to get a Masters in Advertising Design. I feel this will best prepare me and round out my skills for a job at an advertising agency. After graduation, I will begin the climb up the corporate ladder to being an art director, and hopefully I will have a big hand in the photographic and image direction for the company I work for. I see myself at an ad agency like Ogilvy & Mather or a stock photography company such as Getty Images.

Sarah is graduating this May. Her work can be seen at www.sarahweeden.com.

A Chance to Prove Myself
Tricia Swierk
Electrical Engineering Major
Advanced Micro Devices
Austin, Texas

For my first co-op, I researched like a maniac on RIT’s Job Zone System and the Internet to find things that interested me. I started at a company called Detection Systems, where I was a test engineer. I wrote and revised programs for a new motion detector and also learned a new programming language. I learned a lot there.

For my second co-op, I decided on Advanced Micro Devices because the job as a production and development engineer there sounded interesting. I worked on the K-6 MMX processor and did a lot of experiments to improve production to reduce
test time. AMD even sent me on business trips to Vermont and California.

The team I worked on was really good, and it felt good that I went to Austin, where I didn’t know anyone, and I left there with so many friends. There were 40 co-op students at AMD from all over the United States, and two girls from Louisiana and Arizona were my roommates. We hung out together and even went to Mardi Gras and Cancun.

For my next co-op block, I’m thinking of going back to AMD because I liked it so much, but I don’t want to rule out anything!

Patent Pending
Hunaid Nulwala
Polymer Chemistry Major
National Center for Remanufacturing
and Resource Recovery
Rochester, New York

Through my studies and my co-op experience, I found out that I really liked chemistry, especially polymer science. It’s a huge part of our daily lives (think plastics). I co-oped at RIT’s National Center for Remanufacturing and Resource Recovery, which is part of the Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies. During this co-op, I invented a new process useful for industry and the environment. The process has been submitted for a patent.
I earned a diploma in polymer technology in my homeland of Pakistan and came to RIT to get my bachelor’s degree. I plan to get my master’s here, too. Then I want to work for a company like DuPont—that would be very interesting. My family has always run businesses. Someday, I’ll do that, too.


In the Center of the Action
Charles Clemens
Marketing Major
ESPN
New York, New York

The television medium fascinates Charles Clemens. A marketing major, he co-oped for ESPN in Manhattan. “This is a great experience,” he said via long distance after his first week on the job. “We took a trip to ESPN’s production facilities in Bristol, Connecticut, and watched the taping of the Sports Center program. These people are real professionals.” Although Clemens plans to become a lawyer, he sees his co-op experience as immensely valuable. “I get to try something new and challenging,” he says. “It couldn’t be better.”

Work with the Best
Your RIT co-op experiences will be as exciting and interesting as you make them. The variety of opportunities can range from working in the overseas office of an international exporting firm to managing a small, family-owned inn somewhere in upstate New York!

You may choose to work for one of more than 1,200 employers that hire RIT co-op students, or you may develop your own co-op with a company we have not worked with in the past.

Last year our students worked in more than 3,000 co-op positions across the United States and in 20 foreign countries. They held positions in private business and industry as well as government agencies and nonprofit organizations.