Cooperative Education

As a science student, there’s no better way to prepare for your future than through Northeastern’s signature co-op program. Spend time exploring career paths available to science majors before you graduate, applying what you’ve learned in class and the lab to real-world challenges. Work alongside experienced mentors who are invested in your growth, and build the confidence that comes from making meaningful contributions in research, education, health, security, and sustainability—wherever your path takes you.

About the Co-op Program

For over 100 years, Northeastern has been a world leader in cooperative education, the University’s cornerstone experiential learning program.

By alternating semesters of academic study with periods of full-time work, students are able to transform work across academic and professional contexts. Co-op provides students the opportunity to explore or refine potential career paths, make valuable industry connections, broaden perspectives, and acquire the skills and knowledge needed to succeed —all while learning and growing outside the comfort zone of the classroom.

How Co-op Works

Eligibility

Undergraduates may participate in co-op after completing three academic semesters. Transfer students are eligible after completing at least one academic semester at Northeastern.

Schedule

Co-op advisors help students plan up to three co-ops while staying on track for graduation in four years.

Preparation

The program includes a mandatory preparation course and a post co-op reflection, which may be completed as part of poster presentation, reflection essay, video, or meeting.

Advantages

Students gain up to 18 months of professional experience and may work in world-renowned health care institutions, neighborhood health clinics, with multinational biotechnology companies, as well as nonprofit research labs.

Compensation

Most co-ops are full-time, paid positions with the co-op employer. Students do not pay tuition while on co-op, although they are still considered full-time students with no change in benefits.

Employers

Northeastern works with more than 3,800 employers across the United States and in 136 countries around the world.

Get more information about co-op

undergrad co-op handbook
graduate co-op handbook

Discover our co-op employers

The employers below represent a sample of the companies across the globe who have hired College of Science students. With over 3,800 employers who partner with Northeastern, the opportunities are endless.

AbbVieBeth Israel Deaconess Medical CenterHarvard Medical School Department of NeurobiologyMass General Brigham
McLean HospitalPrime Medicine
Alnylam PharmaceuticalsBioNTechBoston Children’s HospitalDana Farber Cancer Institute
Gordon Center for Medical ImagingMassachusetts Institute of Technology BioMicro CenterScorpion TherapeuticsSouth Shore Oral Surgery
Yuko Family Medicine
bluebird bio, Inc.Harvard UniversityIndigo AgricultureMassachusetts Clean Energy Center
Merck KGaAModerna TherapeuticsNew England Baptist HospitalPartners Healthcare
Tarveda TherapeuticsTufts Medical Center

Brigham and Women’s HospitalBeth Israel Lahey HealthMassachusetts General HospitalBoston Children’s Hospital
Harvard Medical SchoolMassachusetts Eye and EarTufts Medical CenterDana-Farber Cancer Institute
Boston Veterinary ClinicSouth Boston Community Health Center

Bright Horizons Family SolutionsCataldo Ambulance Service IncLiving ProofMorphic Therapeutic
Northeastern UniversityVertex PharmaceuticalsWayfair
908DevicesAdvent TechnologiesBoston Medical CenterDana-Farber Cancer Institute
Draper LaboratoryHarvard Medical SchoolLiving ProofModerna
Takeda Pharmaceuticals
Best Bees CompanyGreen City GrowersMassachusetts Clean Energy CenterMassachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT)
The Marine Biological Laboratory
Boston College Language LaboratoryMassachusetts State ArchivesNational Geographic LearningPerkins School for the Blind
Psycholinguistics and Language Development GroupUniversity of Kaiserslautern

John HancockCoverysMorgan StanleyMFS Investment Management

Harvard UniversityMassachusetts General HospitalMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyBiosensics LLC

Arbour HospitalBoston Medical CenterBrigham and Women’s HospitalMassachusetts General Hospital
Walden Behavioral Care

Co-op Advising

Students receive ongoing support from their discipline-specific co-op advisor throughout the process. They meet their advisor in the Co-op Preparation Course during their sophomore year, which focuses on career exploration, employer research, resumé development, and interview preparation. Additionally, co-op advisors meet individually with each student before beginning the job search to discuss interests and goals, refine resumés, and review job-search strategies.

Meet Co-op Faculty and Staff

View all co-op faculty and staff

  • Alex Susienka

    Alex Susienka received an MA in Higher Education and Student Affairs from Western Michigan University. He supports and mentors graduate students studying bioinformatics and biotechnology by connecting them to impactful co-op opportunities and providing career guidance. Alex also manages the Pathways to Professional Success course for COS graduate students across the global university system and […]

  • Anthony Padrazo

    Anthony Padrazo earned an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from Northeastern University. He has developed curricula in health and wellness, pre-school and student life. He has experience in special education, early childhood education, culturally responsive teaching, musical immersion, and psychological development.

  • Barbara Pierre

  • Jacquelyn MacDonald

  • Kelly Harrington

  • Kristen Crovo

become-co-op-image

Become a co-op employer

Hiring co-op students gives your organization early access to top emerging talent—curious, skilled, and ready to tackle crucial challenges facing the world today. Our students bring fresh perspectives, cutting-edge classroom knowledge, research experience, and a passion for discovery. Co-op placements also create valuable mentoring and leadership opportunities for your team, while helping you build a pipeline of future-ready talent prepared to drive innovation in your field.

Additionally, the program provides a simple, cost-effective way to meet hiring needs. 

Interested in becoming a co-op employer? Contact [email protected]

Interested in hiring a PhD co-op? Contact Vanecia Harrison, [email protected]

Northeastern University’s co-op program has been a big asset for Biobot. We love the enthusiasm, work ethic, and expertise that the students bring to our organization, and can’t wait to bring on more! We have even permanently hired staff that we first met as Northeastern co-ops—a win-win all around.

Jessica Alfoldi, VP of Research and Development, Biobot Analytics

Information for employers

Through the co-op program, employers have the opportunity to

  • Expand your capacity for long and short-term projects
  • Build a potential, future pipeline
  • Evaluate potential candidates’ skills, company fit, and workplace readiness over several months
  • Get access to temporary employees without agency costs
  • Expand your brand to the future workforce

When you become an employer partner of Northeastern University, you work with a dedicated co-op coordinator to assist you throughout the process. This team member works within the co-op program to support you and the students.

Generally, there are two six-month co-op cycle for both undergraduate and graduate students (Master’s and PhD*).

These cycles are as follows:

Spring Co-op: January – June

  • Post your job: August – December
  • Interview candidates: mid-October – December

Fall Co-op: July – December

  • Post your job: January – June
  • Interview candidates: mid-February – June

*Alternative cycle and timeline options may be allowed for graduate co-ops. To discuss these options, please email [email protected] and a cooperative education team member will reach out to you.

Hired students are onboarded as employees within your organization and are paid for their contributions. For more information regarding pay please refer to the Co-op Employer Handbook.

In order to attract ideal candidates, consider including the following in your job description:

  • A list of the job responsibilities illustrating the experience/skills the student will gain
  • What skills are necessary to be successful in the position
  • A comprehensive overview of your company including unique highlights that appeal to applicants
    • Professional development opportunities
    • Mission
    • Access to public transit or parking
    • Facilities
    • Paid holidays
    • Complimentary snacks or lunch
    • Other
  • A salary range

When posting your job opportunity, please select all relevant majors and degree level (Undergraduate, Graduate, and PhD).

Your organization selects the students it wants to interview and hire from the resumes you receive from your co-op program coordinator. We refer students to you that match your specified job qualified, however you are not required to hire a student if you do not find a good fit.

Your organization

  • facilitates all hiring decisions.
  • provides supervision and training/mentorship throughout the co-op.
  • completes an evaluation of each co-op student at the end of the work period.
  • Northeastern University’s co-op program has a long history of success with its employers.
  • Employers are encouraged to resolve issues with co-op students as they would with permanent employees.
  • A co-op student is an employee of your organization and should expect to be treated as a staff member.
  • Should a problem arise reach out to your Northeastern contact as soon as possible.

In addition to your dedicated co-op coordinator, please reference the following resources to assist you in hiring and employing a student:

Ready to hire a student today?

Get started on NUworks to post a new role, review resumés, print documents, update statuses, and more.

Log-in to Nuworks

Use our Best Practices for Employers guide to help you get started

Download The Guide

Get information on employing students in our Co-op Employer Handbook

Access The HAndbook

Employer Testimonials

“I have worked with over 50 Northeastern co-ops over the last 15 years and have been extremely impressed with the consistent levels of motivation and talent in this group. Many have continued on in second co-ops pursuing different projects within the lab, or to senior thesis projects, thereby building on the skills they learn in the first co-op.

Moreover, it has been thrilling to see many students begin to figure out their specific passions for domains of science or medicine through hands-on experience in our lab. Finally, the staff that oversee the co-op program have always been helpful and clearly care about the students and the quality of their experiences.”

Mark Anderman, PhD, Principal Investigator, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard University

Since 2017, I look forward to welcoming new and enthusiastic Northeastern co-ops at the start of each semester to help in conducting my research at Mass General. Each of the over 10 co-ops I have worked with has been instrumental in moving my clinical trials forward. From recruitment and enrollment to data collection and analysis, each co-op joins us with a strong skillset and more importantly a passion to learn, contribute, and grow.

As six months is not enough time, I’ve often hired the students part-time at the end of their co-ops to complete ongoing projects and train future hires. It’s truly been a pleasure working with Northeastern University’s co-op program, and I strongly recommend to all researchers.

Hassan Dashti, PhD, Center for Genomic Medicine, Mass General Research Institute

Questions about being a co-op employer?

Please complete this form with any co-op related questions you may have.

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