FAQs - Co-operative Education

What kinds of co-operative education jobs might be available?

MPS students have found co-operative education jobs in federal, provincial and municipal government agencies, with titles such as: Policy Analyst, Economic Development Intern, Junior Economist, Research Assistant, Business Analyst, and Assistant to Chief of Staff. Please visit our Co-operative Eduation Examples page for a listing of MPS Co-operative education postions. Note: Many government co-operative education jobs are located in the Ottawa and Toronto regions, and in other provinces and capitals. Students who are willing to relocate are therefore much more likely to get a good co-operative education job.

How will I find a good paid co-operative education position?

The 8-month co-operative education work experience is facilitated by uWaterloo's Co-operative Education, the world's largest co-operative education program, and Co-operative and Experiential Education. During the second term you begin searching and applying for co-operative education opportunities via WaterlooWorks, the university's co-operative education job bank. You will be notified that you have an interview through WaterlooWorks. All interviews happen at the Tatham Centre on the main campus, a few minutes away from the MPS program space. After your interview, employers will then choose if they want to offer you a position or rank you as an alternate choice. The interview and employer matching process takes about a month. When the month is over, you then see which positions you've been offered or ranked. You rank which positions you want. The system then matches you and your new employer. If you do not get matched, then you go for more interviews until you are successfully matched. 

The co-operative education process still sounds scary. Who will support me? 

We understand that landing your first co-operative education position may be intimidating. That's why you are supported the entire way. At Waterloo MPS, you not only have the world's largest co-operative education program to back you up, you also have caring faculty, staff, senior students and alumni to help you along the way. We work with you to ensure that you have an excellent application package, the right words to say in an interview, and the confidence to win the employer's approval. 

What is the pay range I can expect to earn during the co-operative education term?

Waterloo's Co-operative Education & Career Services does not establish or recommend pay range for co-operative education work terms, rather, pay is set by the employer. Historically, the average income for MPS students for the 8-month period is $24,000 ($12,000 per term).