Student wearing hard hat at work.

CO-OP programs

Experience your future career and help fund your studies with the CO-OP program. With the Co-operative Education (CO-OP) Program, you can gain hands-on experience in your field of study while you complete your degree.

Why choose a CO-OP program?

CO-OP video still.
Faculty of Engineering
Why choose the uOttawa Faculty of Engineering CO-OP Program?

What are the advantages of the CO-OP program for engineering and computer science students?

As a Faculty of Engineering student, you gain significant advantages from the CO-OP program:

  • Find work (96.1% Faculty of Engineering placement rate for 2018)
  • Find an employer in Canadian cities or even abroad from various organizations in the private and public sectors
  • Build your professional skills and increase your knowledge
  • Network with valuable contacts who can help you kick-start your career
  • Benefit from a quality program that meets national criteria and standards and is approved by the Canadian Association for Co-operative Education
  • Alternate between work and study terms. Start working in the summer of your second year and then alternate between four-month work and study terms.

Engineering and computer science degrees with CO-OP placements

We offer the CO-OP option in 11 undergraduate disciplines and 4 graduate disciplines.

Bachelor’s degree

Biomedical Mechanical Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Civil Engineering
Computer Engineering
Computer Science
Electrical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Software Engineering
Biotechnology
Data Science
Physics and Electrical Engineering

Master’s degree

Computer Science
Digital Transformation and Innovation
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Mechanical Engineering

Work and study sequence

Students typically follow this sequence. It is possible to adapt it to satisfy your best interests.

Study and work terms of a typical CO-OP program.
Year of StudyFallWinterSpring/Summer
1StudyStudyOpen
2StudyStudyWork 1
3StudyWork 2Study
4Work 3StudyWork 4
5StudyOpenOpen

Our students reflect on their CO-OP experiences

Janie Amyot.

Janie Amyot

Program: Chemical Engineering and BSc in Computing Technology (Environment Engineering Option)
CO-OP placement: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Co-op student of the year award 2017

Janie Amyot is completing joint BASc in Chemical Engineering and BSc in Computing Technology degrees. As a fourth-year student, Janie was hired for a position at Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Her supervisor, Isabelle Tardif (regulatory analyst), greatly appreciated Janie’s "ability to achieve quality results through thoughtful reflection and her ability to work well independently.”

Janie is engaged and curious. Thanks to her consistently high grades, she has been on the Dean’s Honour List at the Faculty of Engineering for the past three years. She was also the recipient of a Faculty of Engineering memorial scholarship, recognizing high-achieving female students.

Sheldon Harrison during his CO-OP placement.

Sheldon Harrison

Program: Mechanical Engineering
CO-OP placement: Dai Nippon Printing Co. Ltd. (Chiba, Japan)

"This company is very big here in Japan and is on the bleeding edge of technology. I’m an intern in the patterning and technology R&D department, where I’ve gotten to work in a bunch of different fields, like creating microscopic artificial organs. I have zero background in any kind of biology, so learning how to work in a sterilized environment and understand what a bunch of long bio words mean, all while trying to do my experiment correctly, was a huge challenge. I loved that, though.

Personally, I’ve learned how to deal with just about any kind of obstacle that pops up. Right now, I’m about as linguistically adept in Japanese as a two-year-old. I’ve even told my boss he looked very pretty thinking I was talking about the nice weather!

The best thing about CO-OP is how they help you do an international work term. I received guidance, funding (from the International Office and Faculty of Engineering, as well) and overall assistance to make this all possible.

This has definitely been the experience of a lifetime."

From the employer's perspective

Megan Graham

Senior HR Advisor
Ross Video

“The uOttawa CO-OP program allows the opportunity for students to be exposed to different industries. CO-OP employers play an important role in shaping the students’ career choices. CO-OP also provides a look at future talent that might be a fantastic addition to our team after graduating.”

“The uOttawa CO-OP program is a very reputable program. I like going on campus, I like seeing the students, and I like getting a feel for them in person. We have had some great students from uOttawa.”

Jacob Gurnick

Senior Research Engineer
Communications Research Centre Canada

“From our perspective, the CO-OP program helps us enormously in our projects. The uOttawa CO-OP students sometimes come up with bright, fresh ideas that we hadn’t thought of.

We usually hire one or two CO-OP students. The first student is hired mainly for programming and software engineering. These tasks involve writing an application that enables communications to be offloaded. Our second CO-OP student is usually an electrical or computer engineering student we can bring into the field to help test new technologies.

By being in the CO-OP program, students learn about a field they enjoy while employers get much-needed help and new perspectives.

I went through the CO-OP program at uOttawa. It gave me the experience I needed, making it much easier to find a job when I graduated. My last CO-OP placement was actually here, and I was able to get hired back on and continue here.

What we’re looking for is someone who is eager to learn, proactive and can ask questions when they don’t know what to do. They don’t have to be an expert in their field. They’ll use the knowledge they already have, and we’ll help them grow and mature in their field of expertise.

Most CO-OP students we’ve hired are bright, energetic and skilled individuals who are very eager to learn. These are the type of students we’re looking for.”

Employers

Take advantage of the Co-operative Education Tax Credit.