This document summarizes information about cooperative education (co-op) opportunities for students in the Marine & Environmental Science major at Northeastern University. It explains that co-op is a popular form of experiential learning where students complete full-time paid work terms alternating with academic terms. Students work with a co-op coordinator to search for competitive jobs in areas like non-profits, companies, academic institutions, and sometimes internationally. The goals of co-op are to gain hands-on experience enhancing classroom learning, explore career options, and develop professional skills to become a strong job applicant.

1. Marine &
Environmental Science
Co-op
Sarah Klionsky, Co-op Coordinator
Office: 206 Mugar
s.klionsky@neu.edu, 617.373.7912

2. Co-op
Study abroad &
Dialogues of
Civilization
Service Learning
Internships
Research &
Directed Study
Experiential Education

3. Co-op is:
A form of experiential education
Not required for your major but very popular
Some form of experiential education is required
Full-time, 6-month work experiences
January-June or July-December (officially)
We are flexible with dates
Taken instead of classes after you have
completed at least 3 academic semesters
Students can do up to 3 co-ops
Competitive, “real” jobs
We do not guarantee you a job
Cooperative Education (Co-op)

4. Each major has a Co-op Coordinator who
works closely with all the students in the
major
Northeastern has an online co-op database,
which NU students use to search for co-op jobs
You are encouraged to also search for jobs
outside the database
It is very easy to make a job or internship into a
co-op
You can co-op in another city, state, or country
Northeastern supports co-ops away from Boston
Co-op

5.  Philosophy
 Co-op is about finding the best experience for each
individual student
 In MES, co-op takes a lot of different forms
 Value
 Gain experience in your field of study
 Learn about your likes & dislikes, strengths & weaknesses
 Become a more attractive candidate for
employment/graduate school
 Reality
 It takes work and dedication to secure a co-op
Marine & Environmental Science Co-op

6.  Pay
 We try our hardest to offer paid co-op positions
 Some positions are unpaid
 Most unpaid positions are only part-time so the student can
have another part-time job that is paid
 Combined or Double Majors
 No student at Northeastern is limited to searching for co-
ops that are only within their major course of study
 Combined or double majors will usually work with the same
Co-op Coordinator for their whole time at NU, but they are
welcome to do co-ops in each of their majors
Marine & Environmental Science Co-op

7.  Gain hands-on experience that will enhance and inform
your classroom learning
 Explore dimensions of your field of study to determine
which are a good fit and which are not
 Discover your likes and dislikes, strengths and
weaknesses
 Learn about navigating different workplaces
 Develop a professional network
 Enhance communication, critical thinking, and problem
solving skills
 Work with teams or groups towards common goals
 Ask more and better questions
 Understand what it takes to be a successful job applicant
Co-op Goals

8.  NGOs
 The New England
Aquarium
 Trust for Public Land
 The Food Project
 Eagle Eye Institute
 Companies
 Massachusetts Clean
Energy Center
 GEI Consultants
 EnerNOC
 GreenerU
Co-op Examples
 Academic Institutions
 Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution
 Marine Biological
Laboratory
 NEU Marine Science Center
 Harvard Geology Museum
 International
 Turks & Caicos – Dept. of
Envi. & Marine Affairs
 South Africa – City of Cape
Town
 Germany – Leibniz
University

9. Contact me at:
Sarah Klionsky
617.373.7912
s.klionsky@neu.edu
Questions?