Co-op & Experiential Learning
Combining rigorous academics with a variety of experiential learning opportunities
Northeastern’s approach to education combines rigorous academics with experiential learning anchored by our world-renowned cooperative education program. Experiential learning encompasses our co-op program as well as project-based learning, research, global experiences, service learning, and student organizations.
Cooperative Education
Cooperative Education (co-op) is an educational model providing undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to alternate between periods of academic study and full-time employment to gain hands-on, professional experience in their field of interest, and build personal connections and contacts. With hundreds of employer partners in Boston, across the country, and around the world, civil and environmental engineering co-op students graduate with not only a degree, but also invaluable connections and proven experience in their chosen field.
Advantages of Northeastern's Co-op Program
- Generally competitively paid, full-time positions where the student is integrated with an employer partner and working on real-world projects.
- Longer duration than a typical summer internship. Co-ops are six months in duration for undergraduate students, while graduate students have optional 4, 6, or 8-month opportunities.
- A dedicated team of co-op coordinators coach students through the co-op search process and support them through their co-op experience.
- Co-op coordinators maintain relationships with employer partners to provide students with robust co-op opportunities.
- Provides a holistic learning model including preparation (introduction to co-op course), work (full-time co-op employment), and reflection (interpreting the experience).
Building on Her Co-Op Experiences
Carrie Tam, BS, Civil Engineering & Architectural Studies, applied her co-op experience at Walker Consultants to the US Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon competition, bringing the Northeastern team to the national finals.
Civil Engineering Co-op Experience
Jude Arbogast, BS, Civil Engineering, has done two co-ops at Suffolk Construction—one in scheduling and staffing, and the other in the field where he found his love of construction management. He says co-op allowed him to put his knowledge to the test and find out what he really wanted to do.
Environmental Health Hands-On Experiences
Anna Walsh, a fifth year student with an independent environmental health major, studies a variety of environmental contaminants. She describes two projects, one on air sampling and the other developing a framework for passive samplers for water samples. She did a co-op at Stockholm University in an environmental department getting significant experience.
Student Clubs and Global Experiences
Engineers Without Borders
Engineering without Borders (EWB) is one organization at Northeastern that allows students to travel to countries such as Uganda and Honduras to address their need for potable water. Since 2004 this student group has designed and constructed water projects in six communities, directly affecting over 2,000 individuals. Northeastern’s experiential philosophy allows students to become real world engineers while they are still learning in the classroom.
Dialogue of Civilizations
One example of a Dialogue of Civilizations is Sustainable Waste Management: European Practices for Resource Recovery and Environmental Protection led by Teaching Professor Annalisa Onnis-Hayden. Students travel to Cagliari, Italy and immerse themselves in the Sardinian and Italian culture while sailing the Mediterranean Sea, and learning about the rich history and traditions, while enjoying the crystal-clear water, white sand, and the mountains of this special island.
Student Experiences
PhD Student Reflects on the Sustainable Transportation Dialogue of Civilizations in Holland
Nathan David Obeng-Amoako, PhD, civil and environmental engineering, advised by CEE Professor Peter Furth, shares his experience joining Furth’s Dialogue of Civilizations course in the Netherlands, which explored themes of sustainability in transportation.
Three Co-ops and Global Experiences Lead to Dream Job in Transportation
Michael Tormey, E’20, civil engineering, developed a foundation in urban transportation planning during three co-ops and global experiential learning opportunities and is now putting those skills to work as a neighborhood transportation planner in Boston, Massachusetts.
PhD Spotlight: R. Bailey Bond, PhD’24, Civil and Environmental Engineering
R. Bailey Bond, PhD’24, civil and environmental engineering, developed a novel predictive model for headed shear stud strength in concrete-filled steel composite decks. He also created data enhanced methods of modeling structural resilience against seismic hazards.
Co-op to Career Position
Jennifer Dueñas López, MS’23, civil engineering, completed a bachelor’s degree in transportation and highway engineering in her home country of Colombia before moving to the Boston area. After graduating from Northeastern with a master’s degree in 2023, she returned to her co-op at HDR to work full-time.