Chemical Engineering Cooperative Education Program
Cooperative education is a formal program of on-the-job experience as an integrated part of a student's academic program. The key components of cooperative education are:
In order to meet these objectives, we have formed partnerships with a number of companies, both in Montana and across the United States.
Companies which have hired chemical engineering co-op students in the past include:
Time: It will take one additional calendar year to obtain your degree.
Money: You will register for 1 credit of ChE 498: Co-Op each time you are on-site during the academic year (regular tuition), and 1 credit of ChE 480: Extended Studies Co-Op (includes a $200 co-op fee) during the summer term on site. This allows you to maintain continuous enrollment (important for graduation requirements, loan deferments, etc.) and provides access to student health insurance (which may or may not be needed, depending upon conditions of your employment.) The course listing also appears on your transcript, indicating your participation in a co-op program. The $200 fee covers a portion of the costs associated with providing the Program. We are investigating the possibility of changing the co-op fee structure to tie a smaller fee into ChE 498. Co-op students would then take ChE 498 each time they go on-site. At present there are no plans to change the total cost to the student.
If you have financial aid you might need to take additional credits to maintain your "full-time student" status. (Most students with financial aid do not need to do this. You should verify your own situation with the financial aid office.) The cost of these additional credits may or may not be picked up by your company, since tuition may or may not be part of your employer's benefits package
You will have an opportunity to use your new knowledge in the field much sooner than waiting for graduation. The three co-op internship periods give you more time than a summer job to learn about your company and become productive. Since you return to the same company three times, you will have an opportunity for increasing levels of responsibility with each assignment.
You will receive a salary during each co-op internship, and be better prepared for finding permanent employment at graduation.
Students entering the Co-Op Program in Fall 1997 will begin their first co-op internship Spring Semester (January) 1998.
Approximately 10-15 students start per year, with 20-30 students in the Department's Co-Op Program at any time.
The Department checks the courses taken by each candidate with a view towards ensuring that participation in the Co-Op Program will not require the student to spend many extra terms in college. With this in mind, we require that applicants must be on track to take (or have completed) ChE 322: Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer, and all prerequisites by Autumn 1997.
First, you must be selected by a co-op employer. Then, you must maintain continuous progress towards your degree and receive adequate employer reviews. If you leave of the Co-Op Program, you simply fall back into the regular chemical engineering degree program, but you might require additional time to graduate.
Your resume will become part of a packet that will be sent to prospective co-op employers over the summer and fall. Take the time to prepare a good resume, as it will be seen by quite a few people. The Co-Op Coordinator will review all resumes looking for obvious typos. Information on preparing resumes is available from a variety of sources, including:
The purpose of the Application Card is to get your name, address, and phone number where the Co-Op Coordinator can find them. It also has your SSN on the card, so that he can download your MSU grade information from the Registrar's computer. These grades also become part of the information packet sent to prospective employers. Since we are sending your grades out to employers, the Application Card also serves as a release form for this purpose.
If you have taken courses at other universities, please provide a transcript of those courses as part of your application. Again, these grades will become part of the packet sent to prospective employers.
This is a letter, addressed to the ChE Cooperative Education Committee, describing your interest in cooperative education, and stating why you believe it will be of benefit to you, personally. This letter can be as short as half a page, or as long as a page and a half.
The number of available positions is limited, therefore students meeting minimum requirements will be interviewed by the members of the Department's Co-Op Committee. The Committee will then notify successful candidates. Admission to the Department's co-op program does not guarantee selection by an employer.
Selection of students for particular co-op positions will follow the procedures of each employer. While we anticipate that most employers will offer on-campus interviews (arranged through Career Services), some may elect to base their decisions solely on resumes, and others may use telephone interviews. The materials you submit when applying to the co-op program become your "Student Information Packet" which is sent to the companies. You may modify the contents of your packet at any time.
Cooperative education students must meet the same graduation requirements and take the same courses as other chemical engineering students, with two exceptions: Two credits of CHE 498 and one credit of CHE 480 (through Extended Studies) may be used in place of 3 credits of technical electives, and three terms of co-op experience can be used in lieu of one of the two required industrial inspection trips. Follow this link to a listing of the Co-Op Curriculum with prerequisites.
Note: While CHE 498 and 480 credits can be used as technical elective credit, ABET Advanced Chemistry and Engineering Science and Design credit requirements must still be met with other technical elective courses. See CHE Graduation Requirements for further information on this.