Internships and Cooperative Education
Internships are one-time paid or unpaid work experiences related to your major or sometimes your minor. Co-ops are continuing paid experiences; parallel co-ops work part-time and study part-time every semester, and alternating co-ops full time work one semester, attend classes full time the next, and so on, until graduation.
If you want credit for your experience normally you must you must be of junior status or higher, with a declared major or minor, and have at least a 2.0 GPA.
The first step is to attend a general Internship Orientation or a special orientation for Engineering or Business students. International students are eligible to do internships through Curricular Practical Training. A CPT Workshop is required.
The International Career Advantage Program (ICAP) can help you find an internship outside of the country. Attend an ICAP Orientation to learn about the process.
Intern/Co-op Students Spring 2008:
ODU Interns Assist the Legislative Process
Get your career advantage by gaining work experience through a co-op or internship. There is no limit to what you can do or where you can do it!
Jim Johnson, a 1984 civil engineering technology graduate, cites a BCET cooperative education program (co-op) as the spark that jump-started his career in the energy business. Johnson spent two semesters working a co-op at Virginia Natural Gas.
