Co-op for undergraduate students

Co-op is an optional program for Bachelor of Engineering, Integrated Biomedical Engineering & Health Sciences, and Computer Science students. You may join co-op at any time up until your final year of academic studies, but most students join the co-op program in Level 1 or select it when applying to university through OUAC.

If you do not have co-op showing on your Mosaic student record, you need to ask your Academic Advisor to transfer you into the co-op program.

You must complete a minimum of 12 months (or 3 terms) of co-op in this program. 

BTech and BTech DCP students do not need to enrol in co-op as this is a mandatory part of your degree program.

An annual fee of $100 will be charged to your Mosaic account each year that you are in the co-op program.

• It is usually assessed in September.
• If you join the co-op program at another time in the year, the first instalment of this fee will be charged in that term; all other instalments will be charged in September.
• The fee will be due on the due date for the particular term. 

A fee of $350 is charged for each 4-month co-op term that you register.

• This fee will be charged to your Mosaic student account when you are enrolled in the co-op course ENGINEER 2EC0 (BEng and CompSci student) or IBEHS 2EC0 (IBEHS students).
• The fee will be due on the due date for the particular term. 

The ECCS office will enrol you in your co-op course when we process your co-op registration; you do not need to enrol yourself. 

A fee of $600 is charged for each 4-month co-op term that you register to a maximum of $1,800.

• This fee will be charged to your Mosaic student account when you are enrolled in the co-op course ENGTECH 2EE0, ENGTECH 3EE0 or ENGTECH 4EE0.
• The fee will be due on the due date for the particular term.  

The ECCS office will enrol you in your co-op course when we process your co-op registration; you do not need to enrol yourself. Also, when you have reached your maximum in co-op fees, our office will request a reversal of subsequent fees by the Registrar’s Office; this can take up to two weeks after you are enrolled in the co-op course.  

Because co-op is a mandatory component of their program, BTech students do not pay an annual co-op fee. 

A fee of $600 is charged for each 4-month co-op term that you register to a maximum of $1,200.

• This fee will be charged to your Mosaic student account when you are enrolled in the co-op course ENGTECH 2ET0 or ENGTECH 3ET0.
• The fee will be due on the due date for the particular term.
• Students who have previous work experience may be eligible to count up to eight months of this experience towards the co-op requirement. Please refer to the “When Can I Work?” section on this page for more information. 

The ECCS office will enrol you in your co-op course when we process your co-op registration; you do not need to enrol yourself. Also, when you have reached your maximum in co-op fees, our office will request a reversal of subsequent fees by the Registrar’s Office; this can take up to two weeks after you are enrolled in the co-op course. 

Because co-op is a mandatory component of their program, BTech DCP students do not pay an annual co-op fee. 

Students on co-op jobs are eligible for interest-free status on their OSAP loans. However, you are responsible for submitting the required Continuation of Interest-Free Status form yourself.

Please visit the Registrar’s Office website for more information on OSAP. You should also contact the Registrar’s Office through the above link if you have any questions about OSAP or financial aid.

The Bachelor of Engineering and Computer Sciences programs are non-mandatory co-op programs. Students can complete a minimum of 4 months and a maximum of 24 months of verified co-op experience as part of their degree with a maximum of 16 months of continuous employment at one time. For more information on these programs, please visit the departments webpage.

Two options to organize co-op within a Bachelor of Engineering (four-year) or Computer Science program:

• Option A: Co-op in the spring of your first, second and third years.  

• Option B: Co-op in the spring of your first and second year, and a 16-month co-op stretching from third-year spring to fourth-year spring, inclusive.

The Bachelor of Engineering (5-year) programs and Integrated Biomedical Engineering & Health Sciences programs are non-mandatory co-op programs. Students can complete a minimum of 4 months and a maximum of 28 months of verified co-op experience as part of their degree with a maximum of 16 months of continuous employment at one time. For more information on these programs, please visit the departments webpage.

Bachelor of Engineering, 5-Year programs include: Engineering & Management, Engineering & Society, and Chemical and Biomedical Engineering.

Two options to organize co-op within a Bachelor of Engineering (five-year) or the iBioMed program:

• Option A: Co-op in the spring of your first, second, third and fourth years. 

• Option B: Co-op in the spring of your first, second and third year, and a 16-month co-op stretching from fourth-year spring to fifth-year spring, inclusive.

The Bachelor of Technology program is a mandatory co-op program. Students are required to complete a minimum of 12 months of verified co-op experience prior to graduation. Students may complete additional co-op terms to a maximum of 24 months of verified co-op experience with a maximum of 16 months of continuous employment at one time. For more information on these programs, please visit the W Booth School of Engineering Practice and Technology website.

One option to organize Bachelor of Technology (4.5 year) program with co-op:

• Option A: Co-op in the spring of your first and second year, co-op in the winter and spring of your third year, and co-op in the spring of your fourth year.

The Bachelor of Technology, Degree Completion Program is a mandatory co-op program. Students in the Bachelor of Technology, Degree Completion Program are required to complete a minimum of 8 months of work experience prior to the completion of their final academic term. The 8 months of co-op work term experience may be acquired through any of the following:

• Two 4-month co-op work terms

• One 8-month co-op work term

• Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) which validates previous work experience deemed to be the equivalent or greater of either one 4-month or two 4-month co-op work experiences. Previous work experience is qualified as either full time continuing employment or a recognized co-op experience (at another institution) that occurred prior to admission into the BTech program.

Students can combine any of the above options to meet the minimum equivalent of 8 months of co-op work experience.

How to receive credit for these courses?

Option 1- Admission Co-op Credit

Successful completion of co-op work term experience using transfer credit from relevant co-op completed in a college program. This will be assessed upon admission to your McMaster degree program and listed in your admissions letter.

Option 2 – Prior Learning Assessment

Current or previous program-specific employment experience deemed to be the equivalent or greater of either one 4-month or two 4-month co-op work experiences. A Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) recognizes and grants credit towards your co-op requirements for this experience. All documents are online and will be submitted via your student OSCARplus account.

• To activate: Go to OSCARplus and log in under the Student/ Alumni Login using your McMaster Student ID and Password
• Under the Dashboard tab, select the tab Select a Form
• Under Category, select Engineering Co-op
• Under Sub-Category, select the DCP PLA Form.
• Once the form appears fill out the required information and upload any required documents.
• Once you have completed the form, press Save.
• When submitted, your application will be reviewed and we will contact you with any further steps.
• Cost: $100 University administration fee for each qualifying 4-month work experience (total cost for 8 months of experience = $200)

Option 3 – Co-op Option

Completion of co-op work terms while registered in the Degree Completion Program at McMaster University. Engineering Co-op and Career Services (ECCS) will provide access to co-op job postings available in length from 4 to 16 months. You must complete a minimum of 8 months of co-op work experience to graduate. You are eligible to apply and work in co-op jobs longer than 8 months. Students electing to go on co-op must return to a minimum of 9 academic units in their DCP program following completion of their co-op work term. While on co-op, you may take up to 2 DCP courses, with approval from ECCS.