Cooperative Education

An innovative approach to education that integrates professional industry experience into the academic curriculum

Experiential learning, anchored by our world-renowned cooperative education program, is the heart of a Northeastern education. Starting in 1909, the College of Engineering was the first school at Northeastern to offer the co-op program. Today the university is ranked No. 1 in internships/co-ops by U.S. News and World Report.

Co-op gives BS, MS, and PhD students an opportunity to work within their profession for four, six, or eight-month periods as part of their academic curriculum, giving them real-world experience and a competitive edge after graduation. Co-op positions are also available locally and globally and for industry and research positions.

Co-op is also of high value to employers, providing them access to talented and innovative students to meet their workforce needs and business objectives.


In light of the unusual impact on the economy and working conditions around the world resulting from COVID-19, some temporary exceptions have been made to the definition of co-op. After approval, please consult with your co-op coordinator to learn more.

 


Co-op Quick Facts

3,333

Co-op Placements (AY2023)

3,057

Employer Partners (AY2021-23)

32

Countries with Co-op Placements (AY2021-2023)

47

States with Co-op Placements (AY2021-2023)


Received Full-Time Job Offer from a Co-op Employer After Graduation - Class of 2022

54%

Undergraduate Students

52%

Graduate Students


We Are No. 1 in Cooperative Education

Cooperative education provides students real-world experience employed in their field of interest for six months as part of the academic curriculum. See how these students are applying what they learn in the classroom while on the job and gaining a competitive edge upon graduation, including full time job offers.

Bioengineering at the Speed of Covid

Ella Strzegowski (Bioengineering E’23) embarked on a co-op at Moderna in the fall of 2021, just as the company was applying for its biologics license and COVID-19’s Omicron variant was tearing through the population. Her experience placed her at the epicenter of covid-related research even as the virus—and the world’s response to it—changed by the day.

PhD Research for Impact

Archil Lelashvili (MS in Information Systems) came to Northeastern from the nation of Georgia. Pursuing a co-op experience as a software engineer at Boston-based Quickbase, he learned to “translate ideas into code,” gaining insights from the senior software engineers around him while working with the same suite of tools.

Out of This World Experiences

Mechanical Engineering student Paige Butler shares how her involvement in the student group Students for the Exploration and Development of Space landed her two co-ops at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and subsequently, a full-time position following graduation. Learn how Northeastern University’s cooperative education program helps undergraduate students explore their passions while providing unparalleled opportunities for career advancement.

Sample Co-op Employer Partners

  • Abbott
  • Abiomed
  • Boston Scientific
  • Johnson and Johnson
  • Lyndra
  • MIT Lincoln Labs
  • Draper Labs
  • Medtronic
  • SeLux
  • Smith and Nephew
  • Sunovion
  • Traverso Labs
  • A123 Systems
  • 1366 Technologies
  • 24M
  • Acorda Therapeutics
  • Ambri
  • Arsenal Medical
  • Ashland
  • Biogen Idec
  • Bristol-Meyers Squibb
  • CONTINUUS
  • Dow Chemical Company
  • DuPont
  • Eink
  • Entegris
  • GVD Corporation
  • Henkel Loctite
  • Infinium
  • Metalor Technologies
  • Morphic Therapeutics
  • Nano-C
  • Nuvera Fuel Cells
  • Pellion Technologies
  • Pfizer
  • Sanofi Genzyme
  • Selecta Biosciences
  • Shaw, Stone and Webster
  • Takeda
  • Technip
  • TEL
  • Waters Corporation
  • Xtalic Corporation
  • Barletta Engineering Corp
  • CDM, Inc.
  • DN Tanks, Inc.
  • Environmental Partners Group, LLC
  • J.L. Marshall & Sons, Inc.
  • McKenzie Engineering Group, Inc.
  • Natgun Corporation
  • Parsons Brinkerhoff
  • PB Power
  • Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, Inc.
  • Suffolk Construction
  • Tetra Tech Rizzo
  • Turner Construction Company
  • Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.
  • Advanced Micro Devices
  • Amazon Robotics
  • Analog Devices
  • Apple
  • Bose
  • Boston Engineering
  • Boston Red Sox
  • Cisco
  • Draper
  • Hasbro
  • IBM
  • Intel
  • iRobot
  • Jacobs Engineering Group
  • Lockheed Martin
  • Medtronic
  • MIT Lincoln Lab
  • Motorola Solutions
  • Raytheon
  • SimpliSafe
  • SpaceX
  • Starry
  • Tesla
  • WHOOP
  • Amazon Robotics
  • Analogic Corporation
  • Becton Dickinson
  • Bose Corporation
  • Boston Scientific Corporation
  • Foster-Miller
  • General Electric
  • The Gillette Company
  • Insulet
  • MIT Lincoln Laboratory
  • Pollak – A Stoneridge Company
  • Pratt & Whitney
  • Raytheon
  • SharkNinja
  • Tesla
  • United Parcel Service
  • Amazon
  • Apple
  • Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital
  • BMW
  • Boehringer Ingelheim
  • Dassault Systemes Americas Corporation
  • Dell EMC
  • Facebook
  • Fidelity
  • Goldman Sachs
  • Google
  • Mass General Hospital
  • MathWorks
  • Nokia
  • Peapod Digital Labs
  • Retail Business Services
  • Tesla

Co-op Team for Undergraduate and Graduate Departmental Degrees

Supporting programs in the following departments:

Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

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Co-op Team for Multidisciplinary Masters Degrees

Supporting the following programs:

Cyber-Physical Systems, Data Architecture and Management, Information Systems, Information Systems-Bridge, Software Engineering Systems, Telecommunication Networks

View All Contacts

Student Experiences

Developing a Sustainability Career from a Mechanical Engineering Foundation

A master’s degree from Northeastern and a co-op at BR + A helped Tammy Ngo, MS’23, sustainable building systems, change her career trajectory from mechanical engineering to sustainable building design.

How This Gordon Institute Fellow Stays Determined to Follow His Dream

After 13 years in industry, Raymond Tay, MS’24, is gaining new insights on the telecommunications industry as he simultaneously pursues a master’s in telecommunications networks and a graduate certificate in engineering leadership from Northeastern’s Gordon Institute of Engineering Leadership.

Applying Previous Experience in the Workforce to a Civil Engineering Co-op

Paulo Torres Salazar, MS’23, civil engineering, had engineering experience in the workforce even before his time at Northeastern. During his time on co-op at Suffolk Construction, the skills he had built between his work and his courses proved to be a huge boost.

Working for an Environmental Engineering Opportunity Worth Having

Between two co-ops both abroad and in Boston, Charlotte Andrews, E’24, environmental engineering, MS’25, engineering and public policy, has figured out what role she wants to play in the environmental engineering field.