Interdisciplinary Studies Co-operative Education Guide

2024/25 | Conestoga College

Interdisciplinary Studies

Conestoga College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning

Co-operative Education

General Co-op Information & Helpful Resources

  • Co-op programs add value to your education and give you the opportunity to earn money while you apply what you've learned in a real workplace environment.  This also means learning how to navigate the hiring process, applying your skills to real-life problems and learning about yourself along the way. Visit Co-operative Education.
  • Co-op employment opportunities relevant to the program of study are posted on the MyCareer job posting portal.  In addition to the job postings found on the MyCareer portal, co-op students must conduct an independent co-op job search. The College cannot guarantee co-op employment. 
  • Co-op opportunities are available locally, provincially or throughout Canada and in some cases international work experiences maybe possible.  Some work locations may not always be readily accessible by public transportation or may require relocation.  Students are responsible for all transportation and associated costs required to complete their work term.
  • To access the Co-operative Education Regulations & Guidelines: Student Regulations, Procedures and Supports:
  1. Login to MyCareer.
    • From the Student Portal, select the Services tab.
    • Scroll down to MyCareer and click the Login to MyCareer button.
  2. Select Co-op > Co-op Resources  > Co-op Policies from the left-hand navigation panel.
  3. Select the Co-operative Education Guidelines - Procedures and Supports for Students link.

Student eligibility to participate in a co-op work term, students must:

  • Meet all requirements to be legally eligible to work in Canada. International students require a co-op work permit and a Social Insurance Number. For more information on how to apply for or renew a co-op work permit please contact the International Office.
  • Be enrolled full-time (full-time = 70% of the hours, or 66 2/3 % of the courses in the current session/level of the program design).  Exceptions will apply to those students who have been granted special timetabling for which an accommodation is required. Academic eligibility requirements must still be met prior to being granted access to participate in a co-op work term.
  • Successfully complete the Co-op and Career Preparation modules (CEPR1020; CEPR71050 or CEPR8200).  Students who fail CEPR will not be permitted to participate in a co-op work term.  Students who fail CEPR twice will not be permitted to continue in their co-op program.
  • Have successfully completed all but two core courses, according to the program design, by the eligibility term prior to any given work term (regardless of the level the student was placed in advanced standing).
  • Meet program-specific co-op work term eligibility requirements.

Co-op Sequences

  • The number of co-op work terms and the sequence depends on your program/academic plan.
  • Co-op work terms may be re-sequenced to allow academic deficiencies to be cleared or in the event of a student cohort change (i.e. graduation is delayed by one year or more).
  • Successfully completed co-op work terms cannot be repeated.
  • Should a student's academic performance decline considerably (including cumulative missed courses) during the term just prior to a work term, the college reserves the right to withdraw the student from that work term.

Optional Co-op Programs

  • All applicants apply to the non-co-op program. Students will be informed of the application deadline and process to apply for the co-op stream.
  • Not all students who meet academic eligibility requirements will be admitted to the co-op stream. Labour market conditions determine the number of co-op seats in optional co-op programs. Co-op seats caps are determined on an annual basis in collaboration with faculty and admissions.
  • International students will require co-op work permits to utilize the co-op job board for job search and to accept employment.
  • Please be advised that there will be no co-op program service fee refunds after the program withdrawal for refund date. If you are concerned about receiving your work permit in time, please discuss your situation with your co-op advisor as early as possible.
  • International students are advised that any changes to program design, such as work term deferral, may have implications for their work/study status in Canada. For more info contact the International Office.
  • Academic eligibility is determined two academic semesters prior to the initial co-op work term. Should a student's academic performance decline below 65%, the college reserves the right to withdraw the student from the upcoming work term.
  • In the case of back-to-back work terms, eligibility to participate in consecutive work terms will be granted upon approval to participate in the initial work term. Should a student fail to achieve academic eligibility for the initial work term, their eligibility for the second work term will be based on the term that occurs two terms prior to the second work term.
  • Students may only defer one work term regardless of the reason(s).  (e.g. failed or missed work term)
  • Students who do not successfully complete their deferred work term will be removed from the co-op stream.
  • Students who are discontinued are not eligible for co-op work terms.
  • If students are unable to complete their co-op requirements, in order to be eligible to graduate from the non-co-op stream, they must take the Career Development (CDEV) course found in the non-co-op design of their program.

Mandatory Co-op Programs

The academic requirements to remain eligible for a co-op work term in a degree program are as follows:

  • Minimum 65% session weighted average in the eligibility term, two academic semesters prior to the co-op work term. Should a student's academic performance decline below 65%, the college reserves the right to withdraw the student from the upcoming work term.
  • Must have successfully completed all but two core courses, according to the program design, by the eligibility term prior to any given work term (regardless of the level the student was placed in advanced standing).
  • Students (even those on special timetables) will not be permitted to complete a co-op work term until conditions above are met and all but two core course deficiencies, according to the program design, are cleared.
  • Co-op work terms maybe re-sequenced to allow academic deficiencies to be cleared or in the event of a student cohort change (i.e. graduation is delayed by one year or more). Students are not permitted to repeat a passed work term.
  • In the case of back-to-back work terms, eligibility to participate in consecutive work terms will be granted upon approval to participate in the initial work term. Should a student fail to achieve academic eligibility for the initial work term, their eligibility for the second work term will be based on the term that occurs two terms prior to the second work term.
  • Students in degree programs may fail/defer each work term once. 

Guided Career Management Option

Students who do not secure the first work term by the last day of the work term semester may enrol in the 15 credit Career Management in Canada GCM70000/8000/2010 co-op alternative. This co-op alternative involves guided activities involving approximately 2 hours of coaching and advising time per week and additional project work.

If GCM70000/8000/2010 is selected, students cannot transfer back into the co-op stream and cannot complete a co-op term for their first work term.

GCM70000/8000/2010 is delivered online with virtual group coaching/advising sessions of 2 hours per week.

GCM70000/8000/2010 as an option is only available for the first co-op work term of the program design within programs that have 2 or more work terms. Programs with only 1 work term are not eligible for GCM70000/8000/2010.

Program Specific Co-op Eligibility Table

Co-op Eligibility requirements are determined for each program and listed in the table below. 

  • An asterisk (*) has been used to denote if a program is eligible for the Guided Career Management Option.
  • Mandatory Co-op programs require co-op as a part of the program design. Please see the above Mandatory Co-op Program section for more detail.
  • Optional Co-op programs provide students the option to apply for the co-op stream. There are a limited number of seats for optional co-op streams. Please see the above Optional Co-op Program section for more detail.

Code
Program
Mandatory/ Optional
Number of
Work Terms
Term
GPA
1574CBachelor of Communications Management*Mandatory2N/A
1278C
2278C
3278C
Bachelor of Public Relations (Honours)*Mandatory2N/A
1525CApplied ResearchOptional13.75 (80%)
1478CPublic Relations – Integrated CommunicationsOptional13.75 (80%)
1274CPublic ServiceOptional13.75 (85%)
1495CTechnical CommunicationOptional13.75 (80%)
Interdisciplinary Studies Co-operative Education Guide