At Widener, your inside track to a successful career will be paved with outside-the-classroom, real-world experiences – the kind that will set you apart from the crowd.
Co-op is full-time, paid work experience relevant to your major. Our co-op program has a wide network of employers across the Philadelphia region and beyond, so you can work for some top organizations. Some students have gone as far as California for their co-op experience. And many employers extend full-time job offers to co-op students after graduation.
You can choose to participate in 4- or 8-month co-op cycles. Engineering and business majors can choose a combination of both to gain up to 12 months of work experience. Computer science majors can select either a 4-month or 8-month co-op. You have the flexibility to create your own co-op schedule. The table below offers a suggested schedule, depending on the academic year you choose to work:
| Summer | Fall | Spring | |
| Freshman | Study | Study | |
| Sophomore | Study | Work | Study |
| Junior | Study | Study | Work |
| Senior | Work | Study | Study |
While on co-op you do not pay tuition. You can choose to live on campus, at home, or even travel for co-op.
We offer a summer-long professional development series before your first co-op that teaches everything from industry-level Excel training to perfecting those all-important oral and written communication skills.
For more than 30 years, our students have partnered with employers like you as part of our flexible, supportive co-op program. Widener students are career-ready and well-prepared to make meaningful contributions to your organization. And our professional staff provides support for employers and students throughout the co-op process.
This semester, Wawa is embedded as a case study in an introductory management course, with company executives, including Widener alumni, speaking to students and offering advice. It’s just one of several connections between the university and the convenience store chain.
Introducing WidenerCONNECT, the university's new, official, social and professional networking platform for both alumni and students.
In the current economic climate, many people are turning to graduate school as a way to succeed in a rapidly changing world.
Hear from our students about their co-ops and internships.
I’m interested in a lot of different applications in computer science so I’m not sure where that will take me. It will be an adventure either way.
Widener gave me the opportunity to not only start my career as an undergraduate but advance it a few years later when I went back for my masters.
“My clinical experiences made all of the difference for my first year. I felt confident and competent in my ability to succeed.” – Davida Vogel ‘22
Every study abroad trip, every internship opportunity, every volunteer event, every class is contributing to me not only being a better person, but better in business. The world of business today requires us to be globally active.
For me, the opportunities at Widener to start this, join that, do this, allowed me to grow tremendously as a person. That’s what turned me into who I am.
To have people like that in your corner is amazing. They helped me gain the confidence to go into the field and to be on my ‘A’ game.
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