School of Public Health Sciences co-op information

Requirements

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:

Students are given five work term opportunities in which to complete these requirements throughout the normal academic/work term sequence.

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Work terms

Information, from interviews to credit completion, is available through Co-operative Education. 

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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 with a 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:

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.

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Joining or leaving the co-op stream

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 review degree requirements and course sequencing.

You must complete a Plan Modification Form and submit it to your academic advisor to proceed with the change of stream.

Regular to Co-op stream

Changing from the regular to the co-op stream is more difficult as co-op spaces are limited to the number of work placements available. However, there are often several students who decide to leave the co-op stream for various reasons during their first and second year, leaving space available for regular students to transfer into co-op. Please review the co-op designation requirements.

Eligibility

  • Completion of a maximum of your first year of studies.
  • A minimum cumulative and major (HLTH) average of 80% subject to discretion of the Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies.
  • Students who have accepted an offer of transfer into our School of Public Health Sciences (SPHS) programs from another post-secondary institution and have received 4 credit courses or more are not eligible for co-op. We encourage these transfer students to explore The EDGE certificate to enhance their academic experience and acquire new skills.

Application process:

  1. Submit the Requesting Co-op Application form no later than the end of your first year, on April 30.
  2. Decisions will be made after all final grades are available (in mid to late-June).

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Academic courses during co-op

The taking courses during a work term page states that co-op students on work terms are limited to one course (0.5 unit), unless they have written support from their employer to take two courses (1.0 unit). You will need to provide the employer’s written support via email to sphs-undergrad@uwaterloo.ca in order to request a unit load approval from SPHS academic advisor. The email should come from the company's email address, clearly stating your name, your student number, your UWaterloo email address, and the employer's permission for you to take a second course.

Based on SPHS practice, all course override shall not be provided until one week after the add/drop period. Therefore, upon receiving confirmation from your employer, the SPHS advisors will contact the Registrar's Office after the first week of the add/drop period of each term and process the request. Once processed, you will receive an email from the Registrar's Office confirming your increased unit load, and then you will be able to enroll in a maximum of two courses (1.0 unit) yourself, subject to course availability and pre-requisites.

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Co-op sequence changes

If you wish to pursue a co-op sequence change, please follow the instructions below:

  1. Create an updated course sequence outlining a plan as to how you will complete your undergraduate degree.
  1. Ensure your plan complies with the following regulations:
  • Review course availability and the potential impact of prerequisites via Course Descriptions and Course Notes, under the Undergraduate Calendar.
  • Review HLTH course availability via the LEARN SPHS Advising and Student Resources Group, being mindful of the potential for time conflicts if taking mixed level courses which are not guaranteed to be scheduled conflict free.
  • If you wish to attend graduate or professional schools confirm their admission requirements via your desired institution’s program website, as this may have future implications.
  • The inability to graduate on a work term.
  • The inability to take more than 1 course (0.5 units) during a work term without complying to other rules and regulations.
  1. Review your updated course sequence with an SPHS advisor for approval.
  • Your sequence may be rejected, with feedback provided on changes required.
  1. Submit a completed Co-op Sequence Change Form to SPHS-undergrad@uwaterloo.ca for approval.

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Other questions?

Please visit the Co-operative Education and Centre for Career Development for more information.

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