In order to be eligible to receive a co-op designation at the time of graduation, students in the Faculty of Health are required to successfully complete:
- a minimum of four work terms, and
- a minimum of four professional development (PD) online courses: PD 1, PD 12, and two PD electives
Students are given five work term opportunities in which to complete these requirements throughout the normal academic/work term sequence.
Co-op progression
Once you start co-op and make progress through your work terms you will encounter many exciting and challenging opportunities. You will find that the process of finding, applying, and interviewing for jobs can be highly stressful, or that you weren't selected for that 'dream job'. It's important to understand that both the skills you have for managing WaterlooWorks, and the skills that you bring forward to employers will change over time. This means that when you start in co-op you should consider applying to a broad range of jobs, not just your ideal jobs.
Getting experience, and learning what you like or don't like about a particular kind of work is just as important as (and will help you obtain) your preferred job for later work terms. Many students find that they need to plan a path to their ideal co-op job, and there are some great Kinesiology co-op jobs that recent Kinesiology students have taken.
Work terms
Information, from interviews to credit completion, is available through Co-operative Education.
Professional Development (PD) courses
PD courses are intended to enhance your professional development and assist in integrating your academic and work-term experiences. As a Co-op student in the Faculty of Health, you are required to successfully complete four PD courses. Each PD course is worth 0.5 unit and may not be substituted for regular academic course credit. With the exception of PD1, you are expected to take the courses while on your co-op work terms. The schedule for completing the PD courses is as follows:
- PD1: Career Fundamentals, must be completed before the first work term.
- PD12: Reflection and Learning in the Workplace, must be completed during the first work term.
- Two additional PD courses, of your choice, should be completed during subsequent work terms.
PD course content will be made available via Waterloo LEARN.
PD1: Career Fundamentals will lead you through resources and activities to provide you with the tools to be competitive in your employment search and prepare you for a successful first work term.
Co-operative Education and the Centre for Career Development also offer various resources and workshops to help prepare you for the job search and interview processes, as well as success strategies while on a work term.
Getting into or out of Co-op
Once studies are under way, you may decide that you would like to change your program of study from the co-op to the regular stream, or from the regular to the co-op stream.
Co-op to Regular stream
You may change from co-op to regular stream at any time as long as you are not committed to a job. You should meet with your Academic Advisor to discuss your reasons for making the change and submit a Plan Modification Form to confirm your request.
Regular to Co-op stream
Kinesiology students who are in first year have the opportunity to apply to the co-op program after the end of their 1B term. Your academic advisor will ask all interested students to provide a Plan Modification Form and an updated résumé by the end of the winter term in order to be considered for the co-op stream. You will need to maintain an overall average across your first year courses of 75% in order to be eligible for co-op. If admitted to co-op, you should meet with your academic advisor to review degree requirements and course sequencing.
Other questions?
Please visit the Co-operative Education and Centre for Career Development websites for more information.