Internships & Cooperative Education

Hands-on experience before graduation

It’s a fact. Employers prefer to hire graduates with hands-on experience in their majors. You can gain practical experience and enhance your classroom learning through an internship or a co-op opportunity. In addition to providing insight into your future career, working as an intern or a co-op student will give you a competitive advantage in the job market because of the skills you have developed while in the position.

Our nationally accredited Internships and Cooperative Education office can help you obtain high quality internships and co-op positions prior to graduation. We work closely with potential and existing employers to promote internships and co-op positions within their organizations. We have successfully increased the quality and quantity of these experiences for our students. To date, we work with more than 4,000 employers such as:

• American Red Cross
• Bank of America
• Dillard’s
• DRS Infrared Technologies
• Ericsson
• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
• Fidelity Investments
• Frito-Lay
• J.C. Penney
• MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers)
• Nordstrom
• Pepsico
• Southwest Airlines
• Target
• Tracy Locke
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

There is no special application process required to explore these opportunities. Our office hosts a number of career-related workshops that you are encouraged to attend. These workshops are open to all enrolled students.

What is an internship?

Internships are work experiences (typically one semester) related to your field of study with an emphasis on “on-the-job” training rather than merely employment.

The benefits of internships are:

• they extend your classroom learning into a real-world setting
• they provide you opportunities to reinforce your choice of major and career path
• they allow you to obtain transferable skills by working in a professional environment
• they help you create a valuable network of contacts within your industry

Although some internships are unpaid, our program strives to promote paid opportunities.

Some degree programs require students to fulfill an internship as part of their course work. Our office can help you in those situations, too.

What is co-op?

Cooperative education (co-op) integrates theory and practice during the course of multiple semesters. Co-op positions are always paid. Co-op positions offer flexibility to meet your individual needs while attending UNT. You can work:

• full time or part time
• alternating semesters (work full time for one or two semesters then return to classes full time)
• for one semester or multiple semesters

Earning Academic Credit

Depending on your major, you may be eligible to receive academic credit for your internship or co-op position. Department policies vary on these opportunities but often they are evaluated based on:

• how the work relates to your field of study
• the length of the internship or co-op position
• what learning opportunities are available
• if supervision or mentoring is provided by a professional in the field

Our office works with faculty members to coordinate your academic credit.

Office location

The Internships and Cooperative Education office is in Chestnut Hall, Suite 155.