Cooperative education (co-op) at RIT means that you’ll alternate periods of full-time study with full-time, paid work experience in your career field. The amount of time you are employed through co-op will depend on your college major.

RIT’s school year is divided into four 13-week terms called quarters. As a student at RIT, you will complete four years (12 quarters) of college course work, the same amount of time you would spend in a bachelor’s degree program offered by any other college or university. But that’s where the similarity ends. RIT offers you the opportunity to add two to five quarters of co-op work experience to your bachelor’s degree program.

If you enter RIT as a freshman, you will likely spend your first two years on campus completing course work in liberal arts and in your major before beginning co-op. This will give you the academic background you need to succeed in the challenging co-op assignments you will encounter in your next two to three years at RIT. If you enter as a transfer student, your academic adviser will take your previous course work into consideration when developing your co-op schedule.

Degree programs such as engineering, computer science or engineering technology at RIT require four or five quarters of co-op work experience in addition to the normal four years of classroom study. Students in these programs earn their degrees over a five-year period, as they alternate quarters of full-time study with co-op quarters during their third, fourth and fifth years. Upon graduation, these students have a full year of work experience to offer potential employers.

Programs in business, science, hotel management and other areas require two to four quarters of co-op work experience or offer co-op as an optional experience. Students in these programs are able to complete their degree programs in four years. Whether you are enrolled in a four-year or five-year co-op program, tuition is charged only for the quarters you spend on campus taking classes. During your co-op quarters, you are working full time and earning a salary that helps offset your tuition expenses.

There are also some majors at RIT that offer students the opportunity to gain career-related work experience through internships. These programs include criminal justice, social work, biomedical photography and others. While co-op positions are defined as full-time paid positions, in some cases internships may not pay a salary or require a full-time work schedule. Nevertheless, the work experience gained offers important
career advantages, and academic credits also may be awarded for internships.

The chart below outlines co-op and internship opportunities for each of our programs. Whatever your major, we think that you’ll see the advantages of participating in cooperative education, internships and experiential learning at RIT.