PD courses | Co-operative Education | University of Waterloo

Professional Development (PD) courses

Future employers in every field of study are looking for graduates and new hires who can communicate effectively, work in teams and solve complex problems. The Professional Development (PD) program is an online program that helps students enhance their professional skills while completing their work terms. With courses focused on topics like project management, intercultural skills and ethical decision-making, PD courses help students develop new strengths and test their skills in their co-op workplaces.

The number of PD courses students take varies depending on their chosen program. Co-op students in every faculty must take two compulsory PD courses before moving onto the program’s suite of electives, and completion of PD courses is a required component of students’ co-op degrees.

If you’re interested in learning more about the program, visit the Centre for Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) or contact the Centre for WIL at centreforwil@uwaterloo.ca.

PD courses for Math and Science students

Math and Science students take their first PD course during the academic term preceding their first work term. PD1: Career Fundamentals is a career readiness course that helps students through the search for their first co-op job. Students build their résumés, refine their interview skills and are walked through Waterloo’s application and employer matching process.

Students in Math and Science follow up PD1 by taking PD11: Processes for Technical Report Writing during their first work term. PD11 teaches students to compose a technical report, including identifying a problem, conducting research, writing for a specific audience and conducting revisions.

After finishing these two compulsory courses, Math and Science students can fulfill their faculty and/or department requirements by choosing courses from PD's suite of electives. If you want to learn more about your program’s PD requirements, consult the relevant Undergraduate Calendar.

PD courses for Arts, Environment and Health students

Arts, Environment and Health students take their first PD course during the academic term preceding their first work term. PD1: Career Fundamentals is a career readiness course that helps students through the search for their first co-op job. Students build their résumés, refine their interview skills, and are walked through Waterloo’s application and employer matching process.

Students in Arts, Environment and Health follow up PD1 by taking PD12: Critical Reflection for Growth in the Workplace during their first work term. PD12 helps students improve their goal setting, communication with managers and colleagues and ability to adapt to varying organizational cultures, all of which contribute to improved performance in the workplace.

After finishing these two compulsory courses, Arts, Environment and Health students can fulfill their faculty and/or department requirements by choosing courses from PD’s suite of electives. If you want to learn more about your program’s PD requirements, consult the relevant Undergraduate Calendar.

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PD courses for Engineering students

If you're an Engineering student, you'll take Co-op Fundamentals for Engineering (CFE). Co-op Fundamentals for Engineering (CFE) is the product of a longstanding partnership between the Faculty of Engineering, the Centre for Career Development (CCD) and the department of Co-operative Education. It is a suite of co-op and career supports for first-year students, embedded in core Engineering courses for 1A and 1B students.

Students in Engineering follow up CFE by taking PD 19: Tactics for Workplace Success and PD 20: Strategies for Career Success during their first and second work terms. PD19: Tactics for Workplace Success helps students explore professional skills, strategies for workplace success, dealing with common workplace issues, work term planning and self-reflection. This course provides a framework for co-operative education and introduces strategies to make the most of workplace opportunities and challenges.

PD20: Strategies for Career Success helps students to understand the role of self-reflection in developing strategies for workplace success, admitting ignorance to develop improved knowledge, communicating conclusions and recommendations, recognizing and avoiding types of bias and fallacious thinking and application to professional conduct.

After finishing these two compulsory courses, Engineering students can fulfill their faculty and/or department requirements by choosing courses from PD's suite of electives. If you want to learn more about your program’s PD requirements, consult the relevant Undergraduate Calendar.

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