Cooperative Education

An innovative approach to education that integrates professional industry experience into the academic curriculum

Experiential learning, anchored by our world-renowned cooperative education program, is the heart of a Northeastern education. Starting in 1909, the College of Engineering was the first school at Northeastern to offer the co-op program. Today the university is ranked No. 1 in internships/co-ops by U.S. News and World Report.

Co-op gives BS and MS students an opportunity to work within their profession for four, six, or eight-month periods as part of their academic curriculum, giving them real-world experience and a competitive edge after graduation. Co-op positions are also available locally and globally and for industry and research positions.

Co-op is also of high value to employers, providing them access to talented and innovative students to meet their workforce needs and business objectives.


Co-op Quick Facts

2,937

Co-op Hires (AY2025)

3,147

Employer Partners (AY2023-26)

34

Countries with Co-op Hires (AY2023-2025)

48

States with Co-op Hires (AY2023-2025)


Received Full-Time Job Offer from a Co-op Employer After Graduation - Class of 2022

54%

Undergraduate Students

52%

Graduate Students


We Are No. 1 in Cooperative Education

Cooperative education provides students real-world experience employed in their field of interest for six months as part of the academic curriculum. See how these students are applying what they learn in the classroom while on the job and gaining a competitive edge upon graduation, including full time job offers.

Bioengineering at the Speed of Covid

Ella Strzegowski (Bioengineering E’23) embarked on a co-op at Moderna in the fall of 2021, just as the company was applying for its biologics license and COVID-19’s Omicron variant was tearing through the population. Her experience placed her at the epicenter of covid-related research even as the virus—and the world’s response to it—changed by the day.

Building Confidence through Experience

Archil Lelashvili (MS in Information Systems) came to Northeastern from the nation of Georgia. Pursuing a co-op experience as a software engineer at Boston-based Quickbase, he learned to “translate ideas into code,” gaining insights from the senior software engineers around him while working with the same suite of tools.

Out of This World Experiences

Mechanical Engineering student Paige Butler shares how her involvement in the student group Students for the Exploration and Development of Space landed her two co-ops at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and subsequently, a full-time position following graduation. Learn how Northeastern University’s cooperative education program helps undergraduate students explore their passions while providing unparalleled opportunities for career advancement.

Sample Co-op Employer Partners

Bioengineering
  • Abbott
  • Abiomed
  • Boston Scientific
  • Johnson and Johnson
  • Lyndra
  • MIT Lincoln Labs
  • Draper Labs
  • Medtronic
  • SeLux
  • Smith and Nephew
  • Sunovion
  • Traverso Labs
Chemical Engineering
  • A123 Systems
  • 1366 Technologies
  • 24M
  • Acorda Therapeutics
  • Ambri
  • Arsenal Medical
  • Ashland
  • Biogen Idec
  • Bristol-Meyers Squibb
  • CONTINUUS
  • Dow Chemical Company
  • DuPont
  • Eink
  • Entegris
  • GVD Corporation
  • Henkel Loctite
  • Infinium
  • Metalor Technologies
  • Morphic Therapeutics
  • Nano-C
  • Nuvera Fuel Cells
  • Pellion Technologies
  • Pfizer
  • Sanofi Genzyme
  • Selecta Biosciences
  • Shaw, Stone and Webster
  • Takeda
  • Technip
  • TEL
  • Waters Corporation
  • Xtalic Corporation
Civil & Environmental Engineering
  • Barletta Engineering Corp
  • CDM, Inc.
  • DN Tanks, Inc.
  • Environmental Partners Group, LLC
  • J.L. Marshall & Sons, Inc.
  • McKenzie Engineering Group, Inc.
  • Natgun Corporation
  • Parsons Brinkerhoff
  • PB Power
  • Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, Inc.
  • Suffolk Construction
  • Tetra Tech Rizzo
  • Turner Construction Company
  • Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.
Electrical & Computer Engineering
  • Advanced Micro Devices
  • Amazon Robotics
  • Analog Devices
  • Apple
  • Bose
  • Boston Engineering
  • Boston Red Sox
  • Cisco
  • Draper
  • Hasbro
  • IBM
  • Intel
  • iRobot
  • Jacobs Engineering Group
  • Lockheed Martin
  • Medtronic
  • MIT Lincoln Lab
  • Motorola Solutions
  • Raytheon
  • SimpliSafe
  • SpaceX
  • Starry
  • Tesla
  • WHOOP
Mechanical & Industrial Engineering
  • Amazon Robotics
  • Analogic Corporation
  • Becton Dickinson
  • Bose Corporation
  • Boston Scientific Corporation
  • Foster-Miller
  • General Electric
  • The Gillette Company
  • Insulet
  • MIT Lincoln Laboratory
  • Pollak – A Stoneridge Company
  • Pratt & Whitney
  • Raytheon
  • SharkNinja
  • Tesla
  • United Parcel Service
Software Engineering and Information Systems
  • Amazon
  • Apple
  • Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital
  • BMW
  • Boehringer Ingelheim
  • Dassault Systemes Americas Corporation
  • Dell EMC
  • Facebook
  • Fidelity
  • Goldman Sachs
  • Google
  • Mass General Hospital
  • MathWorks
  • Nokia
  • Peapod Digital Labs
  • Retail Business Services
  • Tesla

Co-op Team for Undergraduate and Graduate Departmental Degrees

Supporting programs in the following departments:

Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

View All Contacts

Co-op Team for Software Engineering and Information Systems Masters Degrees

Supporting the following programs:

Cyber-Physical Systems, Data Architecture and Management, Information Systems, Information Systems-Bridge, Software Engineering Systems, Telecommunication Networks

View All Contacts

Student Experiences

Image for Building Hull-Cleaning Robots During a High-Tech Co-Op
Students: Undergraduate

Building Hull-Cleaning Robots During a High-Tech Co-Op

During his co-op at Fleet Robotics, Northeastern mechanical engineering student and marine science minor Timothy Wong helped develop and test an autonomous, magnet-equipped robot designed to clean biofouling and invasive species off ship hulls at sea.

Image for For the Love of The Game: A Student’s Journey in Bioengineering Research
Spotlight Story

For the Love of The Game: A Student’s Journey in Bioengineering Research

Matteo Couto Frignani, E’25, combined bioengineering and biochemistry, graduated last year and is now pursuing a PhD in bioengineering at Princeton University. He discovered his love for research at Northeastern and uses the skills he learned from his experience to continue asking new and impactful questions in the bioengineering field.

Image for Sending Microchips to the Stars Through a Student Co-op
Students: Undergraduate

Sending Microchips to the Stars Through a Student Co-op

During her co-op at Besxar Space Industries, mechanical engineering and bioengineering student Rhea Dharia, E’27, helped design equipment to test semiconductor manufacturing in the vacuum of outer space.

Image for Building a Career Between Management and Engineering: Raseswari Das’ Path to Innovation
Spotlight Story

Building a Career Between Management and Engineering: Raseswari Das’ Path to Innovation

Raseswari Das, MS Information Systems ’18, blended management and engineering to build a career as a self-described “jack of all trades”—from developing a smart syringe for diabetes care to her current role as a Solutions Architect at Bluerock TMS. The mentorship and community she found through the Gordon Institute of Engineering Leadership continue to shape her life and career today.