Cooperative Education and Internships
NJIT places great value on cooperative education (co-op) and internship programs as a means of establishing productive work-based relationships between students and employers. Nearly 1700 NJIT students are hired as co-op or interns each year to work in large multinational corporations to small start-ups in New Jersey, across the country, and overseas.
As one of the nation’s leading science and technology universities, we invite you to join our growing list of employer partners in Handshake and connect with our highly qualified and career-focused candidates for your internship and co-op positions.
We look forward to helping you recruit your company’s future leaders!
Cooperative Education Program
Co-op is an academic program that gives students the opportunity to gain paid professional work experience before graduation. Co-op work experiences are aligned with student’s major to improve understanding of the relationship between classroom theory and practical application. NJIT’s co-op program is administered through the Career Development Services (CDS) office to ensure a high-quality experience for both the student and employer.
Below please find an overview of the co-op program features, benefits, and requirements.
- Recruiting Options to Help You Achieve Your Co-op Hiring Goals
- Employer Benefits of Hiring an NJIT Co-op Student
- NJIT Students & Academics
- Top Co-op Employer Partners
- Co-op Work Cycles
- Co-op Recruiting Timeline
- Employer Participation Requirements
- Sample Co-op Work Assignments
- Internship Program
- Best Practices for Co-op / Intern Programs
1. NJIT Recruiting Options to Help You Achieve Your Co-op Hiring Goals:
- CDS staff dedicated to assisting you in optimizing your campus presence to reach your recruiting objectives.
- Kick-off your recruiting at one of our career fairs with regular participation of 240 employers and nearly 3,000 students seeking full-time roles, co-ops, and internships.
- Grow your candidate pool and educate potential candidates by hosting an information session.
- Conduct first round interviews with pre-selected candidates in our career center or virtually via our on-campus interview program.
- Access to Handshake, our career management platform, enabling you to:
- Connect with co-op eligible students by posting openings on our free online board.
- Target your search with sort and filter features based on major, school year/graduation date, GPA, and work authorization status.
- Expand your candidate pool by reaching out to candidates with public resumes and profiles.
- Review our employer engagement calendar for additional ways to enhance your presence on campus.
2. Employer Benefits of Hiring an NJIT Co-op Student:
Employers that participate in the NJIT co-op program experience short term and long term benefits from their co-op students. Below are some benefits you can expect.
- Fresh Ideas & Innovation:
Co-op students bring a new outlook and creative problem-solving skills to your organization. Students can participate in four-month or six-month+ cycles, providing you consistent access to top talent all year long.
- Heightened Company Name Recognition on Campus:
Co-op students share their experiences from their time at your organization with other students, faculty, and administrators. This free word-of-mouth advertising is listed among the top 10 most used and most effective recruiting techniques according to the National Association for Colleges and Employers (NACE).
- Bottom Line Impact on Labor Costs:
By employing a co-op student, you will augment your technical staff with talented pre-professionals while reducing salary and eliminating benefits expense.
- Talent Pipeline Development for Full Time Roles:
Co-op is an effective way to develop and recruit our top students for future full-time roles at your organization before they enter the post-graduation job market. According to NACE’s Internship & Co-op Survey Report, former co-op students generally remain longer than new entry-level employees. This increased employee retention also decreases the need for additional recruitment long term.
3. NJIT Students & Academics – Your Best Source for Diverse, High-Tech Talent:
NJIT is recognized nationally as a top-ranked public research university. Organizations from every sector and size look to NJIT to identify qualified graduates who make an immediate impact in the workplace. With over 12,000 students majoring in 125 distinct engineering, computing, science, math, design, and management degree programs, NJIT is your best source for diverse, high-tech talent. Cooperative education is available to students who meet the eligibility criteria for their level, major, and college with roughly 470 students participating in co-op experiences each year.
4. NJIT Top Co-op Employer Partners:
We value the experience, time, and energy our co-op employer partners provide our students. Some of our top co-op employers include:
| ADP AT&T Colgate-Palmolive Infineum Johnson & Johnson Langan Liberty Science Center L'Oreal Merck |
Optum/Unitedhealth Group Panasonic Prudential Stryker Turner Construction UPS Verizon Viacom
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5. Co-op Cycles & Hours to Meet Your Business Needs
The NJIT co-op program is designed to accommodate all employer needs. Your organization may recruit for any and all co-op cycles. Indicate the start and end date when creating your posting in Handshake to outline your specific project duration.
Four Month Co-op Experiences
Fall: September - December
Spring: January - May
Summer: May - August
Six Month Co-op Experiences*
Summer/Fall: May - December
Spring/Summer: January - August
Full Time vs Part Time Hours
All academic departments allow for full-time co-op schedules (35-40 hours/week) and some allow for part-time co-op schedules (20-25 hours/week). For details on co-op eligibility for international students, click here.
*Visit the Newark College of Engineering co-op program page to learn more about the engineering 6 month co-op program.
The recruiting period for each cycle typically takes place during the 3-6 months prior to the start of the co-op. Below is a suggested timeline to recruit our most competitive students.
| Co-op Start Date: January Co-op End Date: May or August Post Positions in Handshake: August Review Applications: September/Early October Schedule Interviews: Mid October/Early November Select Candidates: Late November/December |
| Co-op Start Date: May Co-op End Date: August or December Post Positions in Handshake: December Review Applications: January/Early February Schedule Interviews: Mid February/Early March Select Candidates: Late March/April |
| Co-op Start Date: September Co-op End Date: December Post Positions in Handshake: March Review Applications: April Schedule Interviews: May Select Candidates: June/July |
7. Employer Participation Requirements
- Review NJIT's Cooperative Education Employer Participation Agreement
- Provide an Offer Letter that Includes the Following Information:
- Start/end date of co-op assignment
- Number of hours per week
- Salary by the hour, week, or month
- Position description
- Name of supervisor and contact information
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Complete the Learning Agreement
- Once the student has accepted the co-op position, they will initiate the co-op experience paperwork (learning agreement). The supervisor listed on the offer letter will receive an email notification with link to review and approve the co-op details.
- Provide Supervision and Mentorship
- Students are expected to gain practical experience in their field of study and should have a mentor and/or supervisor who has expertise in the same or similar field.
- Provide Compensation
- All co-op students must be compensated. Hourly pay ranges will vary by major and experience level, typical rates range for undergraduate students is $20 - 25 and $25- 30 for graduate students.
- Guarantee Enough Hours for Co-op Experience
- Full-time positions are expected to have 35 - 40 hour work weeks.
- Part-time positions are expected to have 20 - 25 hour work weeks.
- Complete the Student Performance Evaluation
- At the end of a student's co-op experience, employers must complete a performance evaluation of the student. This evaluation form will be sent via email to the supervisor.
8. Sample Co-op Work Assignments
Each co-op job requires a job description. Employers that provide a detailed description about the responsibilities and desired skills have stronger application responses. All positions should be posted to Handshake so that interested candidates can upload their resumes for your consideration. Below are some sample co-op work assignments by discipline.
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Computer Science / Engineering
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Management
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Engineering (Chemical, Civil, Electrical, Industrial, Mechanical)
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Architecture
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College of Science and Liberal Arts
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9. Internship Program
Internships at NJIT are work experiences that are related to a student’s major and occupational interest and provide a learning experience. Work assignments vary in length and most often coincide with a semester or the summer. Most students seek paid internship assignments. Employers offering unpaid internships are strongly encouraged to provide a stipend. There is typically no formal faculty involvement in an internship, although a student may choose to consult a faculty member for advice and perspective on the work assignment. Please submit internship descriptions to NJIT via Handshake.
Organizations seeking to post unpaid internships should be familiar with the U.S. Department of Labor requirements to ensure that their company meets the test for hiring an unpaid intern.
10. Best Practices for Co-op / Intern Programs
We strongly encourage all of our co-op and intern employers to follow the best practices as laid out by the National Association of Colleges & Employers (NACE):