Santa Clara University

Cooperative Education Program (Co-op)

Co-op is an internship program, especially designed for our international students who would otherwise not be able to work legally in the U.S. when studying in the Engineering Graduate Programs. It is a paid, credit bearing internship. In other words, students will get paid and earn credit for working at the same time. While the units earned will count toward maintaining international student status, they cannot be used toward completion of a degree.

Under the guidance of the Career Center, the Co-op program offers our students an excellent opportunity to integrate classroom work with practical industrial experience in the heart of Silicon Valley.  Last year, our students worked in Applied Materials, Fairchild Semiconductor, Fujitsu, Google, IBM, Intel, and Sun under the Co-op program, while finishing up their degrees.  The average hourly wage for students was $21.00.

To qualify for a Co-op, students must meet the following requirements:

1. Pay the regular tuition rate by unit
2. Must have completed 30 quarter units
3. Minimum GPA of 3.0
4. Must be a full-time student the quarter preceding the Co-op assignment
5. Must be currently enrolled as a student at Santa Clara University
6. Not concurrently working as a Teaching/Research Assistant

Program details and requirements are described in the Co-op Education Program Publication (PDF). For more comprehensive information, please refer to the Career Center website or contact our Engineering Co-op liaison, Enzie Lagattuta (phone: 408-554-4420) for an appointment to get started.