• At the completion of a student's cooperative education program in our department, the student must prepare a final paper in order to receive elective credit.  
  • Submission is preferred via email (Word document or PDF is acceptable) to the Undergraduate Program Administrator.  
  • Please remember that your audience for this paper will include prospective co-op students, department faculty, and the co-op office. 
  • Example papers are held in the department office for review. 

The guidelines for the paper, which should be double-spaced and satisfy the page requirements listed for each section, are:


Document Title (for electronic submission):

  • Last Name, First Name Title of Assignment Co-Op Report
  • Ex: Kerr, Emily Johnson & Johnson Co-Op Report


Cover Page:

  • Title - based on the main topics of your co-op assignment
  • Name
  • PeopleSoft Number
  • Company(ies)
  • Academic terms on Co-op 


Abstract:

The abstract should contain no more than 200 words and should convey the summary of the foremost results/conclusions of your co-op assignment.

Do NOT include comments on the co-op program itself or the effect of your assignment on your academic performance in this section.


Report Body -- Two Sections:

  • Section One: The co-op program itself, 3-4 pages.
    Include all comments, including unfavorable ones and suggestions for improvement, on our co-op program. Reflect on how it influenced you, how it affected your academic performance, whether it had any bearing on your career choices or opportunities, how it helped/hurt your finances, whether the program is a benefit to our department, etc. PLEASE BE HONEST - this part of your report will be used to improve the program. Please suggest ways to improve the program for new students.
  • Section Two: The assignment that you had, 2-3 pages.  
    Describe the problem(s) which you worked on. Give the reader a sense of the problem as it was presented to you. If you had several assignments, emphasize the one on which you spent the most time or made the most significant contributions. Do not include any data or information that is confidential. The summary should provide an informative set of conclusions you made on a specific task or contributions that you made to a task involving many people.