Bachelor of Commerce Co-operative Education

Co-op program

The Faculty of Business and Information Technology (FBIT) offers the opportunity for eligible students to receive a co-operative education designation on their degrees in the following fields of study:

Accounting
Commerce
Entrepreneurship
Finance
Marketing
Organizational Behaviour and Human Resources
Technology Management

Benefits of co-operative education

Co-operative education provides many benefits to students including the opportunity to:

Gain valuable practical experience.
Earn competitive salaries that partially offset the cost of their education.
To help clarify career objectives and to develop valuable networking that will enhance opportunities for full-time employment upon graduation.

Applying to co-operative education

Students have the option of applying directly into the co-operative education program from high school or can opt to apply in the winter term of first year. Students who apply in first year are accepted based on:

A minimum cumulative grade point average (cGPA) of 2.70 (B-minus) at time of application.
Clear academic standing.
No record of a major misconduct.

All students must maintain a cGPA of 2.7 or will be removed from the co-op program. Information on the application process is available from the FBIT Co-op Office.

Work terms in co-operative education

Co-operative education placements normally start in the summer after Year 2 and must be completed prior to the final term of study. A co-operative education placement is typically four months of full-time work, however, can be extended to a maximum 16 months of full-time work with approval from the dean or designate (multiple work terms). Students that successfully complete a minimum of three co-op work terms and satisfy all other program requirements are eligible to receive the Co-operative Education designation on their Bachelor of Commerce degree. All completed co-op work terms appear on a student’s academic transcript.

Program details and degree requirements

Students wishing to participate in the co-operative education program must meet the admission requirements outlined above. Once accepted, they will be required to complete and pass XBIT 1000U – Foundations for Success in Co-op (a zero-credit course) and complete at least three co-op work terms (XBIT 2000U – FBIT Co-op Work Term I , XBIT 3000U – FBIT Co-op Work Term II , and XBIT 4000U – FBIT Co-op Work Term III ).

Students must continue to maintain a minimum cGPA of 2.7 to participate in co-op and must complete a second year of study (54 credit hours in the Bachelor of Commerce program) before their first co-op work term. While on a co-op work term, a student is allowed to take a maximum of one course, however, this course must not interfere with the full-time work schedule outlined by the employer. If a student in the co-op stream commits a major academic misconduct, they will be removed from the co-op program.

In order to graduate from the Bachelor of Commerce Co-op (Honours) program, students must satisfy all Bachelor of Commerce degree requirements, relevant to their particular major, and all co-op requirements.

All completed co-op work terms appear on a student’s academic transcript. While FBIT cannot guarantee a co-op placement, assistance, advice and counselling are provided to all students enrolled in the co-operative education program by the co-op coordinator. Students must have their schedule of work terms approved by academic advising to ensure it is compatible with the scheduling of required courses in their major. The faculty will publish approved work/study sequences that offers an optimal path to graduation for various majors. This will be available through the advising office and the co-op webpage on FBIT’s website. Any deviation from the approved sequences will require an approval from the dean or dean’s designate and will likely result in delayed graduation.