Cooperative Education, Internships, and Volunteering

Cooperative Education
The co-op/field experience program is a unique form of education that integrates classroom study with mostly paid, planned and supervised work experience in the public and private sectors. Your work experience supplements your classroom learning with practical workplace skills as you participate in the reality of the world of work, thereby increasing your self-confidence, career direction and understanding of your chosen profession. Each co-op/field experience course has two components: Work Experience and Seminar Class. Learn more below:

Course Details

Each co-op/field experience course has two (2) components:

1. Field experience portion: 

(minimum of 180 hours over the course of the semester) in a job/field experience related to your major

• If you already have a job related to your career, you may be able to use your existing job for Co-op credit. Meet with Career Service to discuss.
• If you don’t have a job, we can help you find a job or internship. Please make an appointment to meet with Career Services several weeks before the semester begins so we have time to help you search. Placement is not guaranteed.
• We can offer help with résumé writing and interview skills.
• You must have an approved job before you can register for a co-op/field experience class.
• The duration of the job is for one semester only. Neither you nor the employer is committed beyond the end of the term, although a number of co-op employers do hire their students on a permanent basis.
• Registration for classes requires a signature from  Career Services and your department chair, therefore registration cannot be completed online.

2. Seminar class portion: 

• Meets on alternate Tuesday evenings from 6pm – 8pm  to discuss work-related professional development topics. Alternate class meeting dates/times may be needed and will be discussed on the first night of class.
• Topics include customer service, diversity in the workplace, conflict resolution and team-building skills.
• Students work with their site supervisor to develop five work-related learning objectives which they complete during the semester.  Each student submits a portfolio which documents their cooperative education experience.

How Do I Qualify?

• Be a matriculated MCC student in the curriculum that corresponds to the Co-op class for which you would like to register
• Meet a member of the Career Services staff (West Hall, 2nd Floor) and file an application for the program
• Be in good academic standing with at least a 2.0 grade point average
• Have completed the necessary prerequisite courses or have received permission to enroll in the course from your department’s chairperson

Before you can register for a co-op class, your registration must be stamped & approved by both Career Services and by your department. Career Services has paperwork for you to complete verifying that you have been offered an internship, co-op or position that will allow you to apply the skills you have learned in the classroom out on the job.  Make an appointment to meet with Career Services by calling 732-906-2595.

Co-Op Courses & Prerequisites

Co-op Course	Prerequisite Course
Accounting ACC 208	ACC 102 and Accounting Department Approval
Graphic Design AGD 222	Senior Status in AGD Option
Art ART 208	Art Department Approval
Communications COM 208	COM 105
Corrections COR 280	COR 201 or COR 207
Computer Science CSC 205	Completed all courses in 1st year CIS or Network Administration
CSC 206	CSC 205 (not run thru Career Services-must meet with CS Department)
Education EDU 280	not run thru Career Services-meet with Education Department
Event Planning BUS 239	BUS 210 + permission of Business and Computer Science Chairperson
Journalism ENG 214	ENG 205 or 235 or BUS 205
Fashion Merchandizing FMR 206	Senior status in program and BAM Chairperson approval
Hotel Restaurant HCD 204	HCD 101, 103 and 208
Management MGT 208	MGT 210
Marketing MKT 209	MKT 201
Paralegal PLS 208	Senior status in Paralegal Studies and Paralegal Department Approval
Psychology PSY 260	PSY 123 (can be used by CJ majors as an elective – see CJ Department)
Small Business Mgt SBM 240	Senior Status
Theater THE 208	THE 145

Employer’s Role

Employer Responsibilities:

• To assist the student with the development of five job related learning objectives
• To provide a minimum of 180 hours of work during the semester (approximately 13 hours/week)
• To allow site visits by a Career Services staff member
• To complete a mid-semester progress report
• To rate the learning objectives at the end of the semester

Employer Advantages:

• A great way to bring in talented students to contribute to the organization with work, ideas and new energy
• Provides an effective, low risk evaluation and training ground for prospective full-time employees
• Opportunity to participate in and influence the educational process
• Greater average retention rates among permanent employees recruited and hired through co-op programs
• Upon the student’s graduation, you have an opportunity to hire a full-time, prescreened employee who fits your needs and is already familiar with the needs of your organization

Forms

Below are selected Co-op forms available for download in PDF format.

File	File Type
Co-op Work Experience Agreement Form
Co-op Timesheet
Co-op Employer Information Form
Co – op Application Form

How Do I Register for a Co-op Course?

1. Come to Career Services, 2nd Floor West Hall to pick up the Cooperative Education Site Agreement Form. Take that form to the supervisor of your internship/field experience, have him/her fill it out and bring the original form with you to step 2. Attach a description of the internship/field experience position.
2. Meet with your academic department chair to have the internship approved as appropriate for your major/ the co-op course for which you are registering. The role of the chair in this process is to ensure that your internship will extend your classroom learning by allowing you to apply what you’ve studied into a real world application. Your chair will sign in the form (middle, front page) if the internship is appropriate academically.
3. Bring the completed form back to Career Services. We will register you for the co-op course at that time.

What is the Difference Between Co-op and Internships?

Both co-op and internships are forms of on-the-job learning that provide students with the opportunity to gain experience, apply knowledge learned in the classroom to real-world situations, and acquire key skills required to enter into a particular career field. Students can use these experiences to determine if they have an interest in a particular career and to create a network of contacts.

Cooperative Education/Field Experience:

• Is a category of experiential learning that uses jobs, internships or volunteer work as the basis of extending classroom learning into hands-on application in a real-world setting.
• MCC students earn academic credit for the field experience by registering for and completing the co-op field experience course in your major (after satisfying all pre-requisites and obtaining all required signatures. The co-op is completed during one semester.
• Your co-op field experience can be your current position provided that it 1) is relevant to your major, 2) gives you the opportunity to do more than the job you are already being paid to do, and 3) is approved by the chairperson of your academic department as academically appropriate.
• You can also use an internship position as your co-op field experience provided it meets all of the requirements explained above and allows you to attend the bi-weekly seminar class.
• Students and the supervisor at the site develop learning objectives against which the student’s performance is evaluated as part of the co-op course grade.
• It can be full-time or part-time but must provide a minimum of 180 hours of field experience within the semester and allow you to attend the bi-weekly seminar class on Tuesday evenings.

Internship:

• Some internship opportunities are part of a formal program hosted by an employer or organization that includes other activities in addition to work experience, perhaps including professional development workshops, conferences or opportunities to network.
• Often the employer sets the entry requirements for the internship in terms of years of education completed or major field of study.
• Application deadlines can be approximately 6 months before the start of the internship. Look to apply in October/November for summer internships in a formal program
• Most internships are full-time for the semester and are often paid, either by stipend or an hourly rate. Employers sometimes offer permanent jobs to successful interns, however that is not always the case … but it’s still a good idea to approach the internship as if every day is a job interview!

Internship Opportunities

MCC students may be eligible for a paid internship in the following industries: Advanced Manufacturing; Construction & Utilities; Financial Services; Health Care; Life Sciences; Retail, Hospitality & Tourism; Technology; or Transportation, Logistics & Distribution.

Interested students should email Charlotte Quigley, Career Services Manager, for more information: cquigley@middlesexcc.edu. She will schedule an appointment with you to help you search for an internship. This opportunity is made possible by the Many Paths, One Future Internship Grant program.

You can also take a look at the companies linked below – there are many great opportunities available!

https://www.collegecentral.com/mcc/ – CCN at MCC: job opportunities posted for MCC students by area employers
Statetheatrenj.org

CollegeRecruiter.com: Internships, career research and much more