Co-op for undergraduate students

Co-op is an optional program for Bachelor of Engineering, Integrated Biomedical Engineering & Health Sciences, and Computer Science students. You may join co-op at any time up until your final year of academic studies, but most students join the co-op program in Level 1 or select it when applying to university through OUAC.

If you do not have co-op showing on your Mosaic student record, you need to ask your Academic Advisor to transfer you into the co-op program.

You must complete a minimum of 12 months (or 3 terms) of co-op in this program. 

BTech and BTech DCP students do not need to enrol in co-op as this is a mandatory part of your degree program.

The Bachelor of Engineering and Computer Sciences programs are non-mandatory co-op programs. Students can complete a minimum of 4 months and a maximum of 24 months of verified co-op experience as part of their degree with a maximum of 16 months of continuous employment at one time. For more information on these programs, please visit the departments webpage.

Two options to organize co-op within a Bachelor of Engineering (four-year) or Computer Science program:

• Option A: Co-op in the spring of your first, second and third years.  

• Option B: Co-op in the spring of your first and second year, and a 16-month co-op stretching from third-year spring to fourth-year spring, inclusive.

The Bachelor of Engineering (5-year) programs and Integrated Biomedical Engineering & Health Sciences programs are non-mandatory co-op programs. Students can complete a minimum of 4 months and a maximum of 28 months of verified co-op experience as part of their degree with a maximum of 16 months of continuous employment at one time. For more information on these programs, please visit the departments webpage.

Bachelor of Engineering, 5-Year programs include: Engineering & Management, Engineering & Society, and Chemical and Biomedical Engineering.

Two options to organize co-op within a Bachelor of Engineering (five-year) or the iBioMed program:

• Option A: Co-op in the spring of your first, second, third and fourth years. 

• Option B: Co-op in the spring of your first, second and third year, and a 16-month co-op stretching from fourth-year spring to fifth-year spring, inclusive.

The Bachelor of Technology program is a mandatory co-op program. Students are required to complete a minimum of 12 months of verified co-op experience prior to graduation. Students may complete additional co-op terms to a maximum of 24 months of verified co-op experience with a maximum of 16 months of continuous employment at one time. For more information on these programs, please visit the W Booth School of Engineering Practice and Technology website.

One option to organize Bachelor of Technology (4.5 year) program with co-op:

• Option A: Co-op in the spring of your first and second year, co-op in the winter and spring of your third year, and co-op in the spring of your fourth year.

The Bachelor of Technology, Degree Completion Program is a mandatory co-op program. Students in the Bachelor of Technology, Degree Completion Program are required to complete a minimum of 8 months of work experience prior to the completion of their final academic term. The 8 months of co-op work term experience may be acquired through any of the following:

• Two 4-month co-op work terms

• One 8-month co-op work term

• Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) which validates previous work experience deemed to be the equivalent or greater of either one 4-month or two 4-month co-op work experiences. Previous work experience is qualified as either full time continuing employment or a recognized co-op experience (at another institution) that occurred prior to admission into the BTech program.

Students can combine any of the above options to meet the minimum equivalent of 8 months of co-op work experience.

How to receive credit for these courses?

Option 1- Admission Co-op Credit

Successful completion of co-op work term experience using transfer credit from relevant co-op completed in a college program. This will be assessed upon admission to your McMaster degree program and listed in your admissions letter.

Option 2 – Prior Learning Assessment

Current or previous program-specific employment experience deemed to be the equivalent or greater of either one 4-month or two 4-month co-op work experiences. A Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) recognizes and grants credit towards your co-op requirements for this experience. All documents are online and will be submitted via your student OSCARplus account.

• To activate: Go to OSCARplus and log in under the Student/ Alumni Login using your McMaster Student ID and Password
• Under the Dashboard tab, select the tab Select a Form
• Under Category, select Engineering Co-op
• Under Sub-Category, select the DCP PLA Form.
• Once the form appears fill out the required information and upload any required documents.
• Once you have completed the form, press Save.
• When submitted, your application will be reviewed and we will contact you with any further steps.
• Cost: $100 University administration fee for each qualifying 4-month work experience (total cost for 8 months of experience = $200)

Option 3 – Co-op Option

Completion of co-op work terms while registered in the Degree Completion Program at McMaster University. The Centre will provide access to co-op job postings available in length from 4 to 16 months. You must complete a minimum of 8 months of co-op work experience to graduate. You are eligible to apply and work in co-op jobs longer than 8 months. Students electing to go on co-op must return to a minimum of 9 academic units in their DCP program following completion of their co-op work term. While on co-op, you may take up to 2 DCP courses, with approval from the Centre.