Cooperative Education for the
Computing Professions -- Why?

Texas A&M University

Bart Childs

January 6, 2006

CPSC COOP Home Page

The Cooperative Education program emphasizes writing and experience. It is intended as a complement to the usual classroom and laboratory instruction. It is not an honors program and it certainly is not remedial. The experience of real work appears to lead to students achieving higher grades for the simple reason that they see there is use of even the most disliked courses.

The COOP program is not an intern program. Intern programs are normally summer employment programs. Usually there is not any credit associated with internships. Intern experience is encouraged for those students who do not choose to COOP.

The COOP program is available to all computer science and computer engineering (computer science option) students who meet the following conditions:

• have achieved upper level and are in good academic standing,
• have an academic degree plan on file (in room HRBB 333),
• are making good progress toward their degree in their recent semesters.

COOP is mostly for undergraduate students but graduate students can also participate as outlined below.

The COOP calendar is based upon the assumption there are three semesters per year at Texas A&M university (fall, spring, and summer.) Each of the work terms will be approximately four months in length, which can be accomodated without missing academic classes. The words semester and term are used interchangeably.