Tufts Co-op Program for Undergraduates
The Tufts University Co-op Program is open to undergraduates in the School of Engineering. Students participating can complete a full-time co-op during their 4-year academic program from January–June or July–December. Currently the undergrad majors of Biomedical Engineering, Computer Science, Data Science, Human Factors (including UX/UI), and Mechanical Engineering are eligible for a co-op.
In addition, students are required to take a co-op course BEFORE they begin their co-op experience. This 13-week 1 credit, pass/fail course covers career topics from resumes to interviewing and networking to how to make the most of your co-op. We also bring in employer and alumni guests every 3rd week to discuss their careers, the work that they and their companies are doing, and how the co-op or intern programs work in their companies.
The Tufts Career Center shares co-op opportunities through Handshake. We offer a few opportunities during the semester for organizations to present examples of projects that students might work on during their co-op positions. If you are interested in taking part in this opportunity, please reach out to Robin Kahan, Associate Director of Engineering Career Services at Robin.Kahan@tufts.edu.
FAQs for Students
Students do not receive credit but are considered full-time Tufts students for the duration of the co-op semester. Students are not required to participate in a co-op, but we have found that students are regularly hired after successful completion of their co-ops.
International students can participate in the Co-op Program through Curricular Practical Training (CPT). The Tufts student is responsible for working with the Tufts International Center to obtain the necessary documentation. The employer must provide an offer letter to the student with the details of their co-op program to obtain CPT.
For the undergraduate co-op program, Tufts students typically participate during their junior year. This timing ensures that they have completed some of their engineering coursework and are able to complete their degree programs within 4 years. Some choose to take 4.5 years or even a second co-op to graduate in 5 years.
FAQs for Employers
Employers should follow the same recruitment process that they use for all co-op candidates. We ask employers to post the co-op job description, application process, and important information in Handshake and send the details to the Tufts Employer Relations team as well.
In addition, the hiring manager will need to complete a mid-semester and a final evaluation of the co-op student. This will be submitted to the Engineering Department to indicate successful completion of the co-op program.
We invite our co-op employers to our In-Person Career Fairs in the Fall and Spring semesters. In addition, we host a few employers in the required co-op course throughout the semester. We typically will ask for Tufts alumni and/or recruiters to join the class to describe their career paths, the projects that students will be working on, and the application process.
This is a great opportunity to highlight your organization to interested students. We are able to coordinate on-campus or virtual sessions to reach our student populations. Please reach out to Sue Atkins, Associate Director, Employer Relations to discuss making those arrangements at susan.atkins@tufts.edu.
