Undergraduate Experiential Learning Frequently Asked Questions
What is the role of my career development advisor in the Career Center?
Your career development advisor will offer guidance during your job search and make sure you know how to research job opportunities. However, it is your responsibility to apply and interview for available co-op or internship positions. There are no guarantees that you will secure a co-op or intern. Barriers to locating a co-op or internship position may include being inflexible regarding the geographic location in which you are willing to work and/or the term in which you wish to begin working. Another possible barrier is having a GPA that is lower than what employers typically seek. Your advisor will be there to assist you throughout your time you are working with the Career Center.
May I apply for co-op opportunities that I locate on my own?
Yes! However, the Career Center must approve the company and co-op or internship opportunity in which you are interested. You must work out such arrangements with your career development advisor. Remember that the job must be related to your major, paid, full-time, supervised, and with increasing responsibility for at least three alternating semesters, if it is a co-op. If it is an internship it must be related to your major but it can be either full or part-time.
What if I choose not to co-op?
If at any point you choose not to participate in the co-op program, please let your advisor know. He or she will ask you to either transfer out of the program or into the internship program. Since co-op is an official academic program, the Career Center must track which students choose not to complete requirements for the co-op designation.
May I begin the co-op program if I am not committed to completing it?
No. You will be allowed to begin co-op employment only if you intend to meet all requirements of the program, including working a minimum of three work terms — two of which must be during a fall or spring semester. If you do not have time to complete the required number of work terms, you may wish to consider the internship program.
If I decide to accept a verbal offer?
In certain situations, you may be made a verbal offer. You may accept the offer over the phone; however, you must follow up with a written acceptance letter to the individual who has extended the offer. If you are made the offer during a second interview, you still must follow up in writing.
After accepting a co-op or internship — even if the acceptance has been only verbal — you may not consider other offers.
Once you accept a job offer, inform other employers with whom you have pending offers.
NOTE: You MUST cancel any other scheduled interviews or on-site visits once you have accepted your co-op or internship.
How many work terms must I complete to earn the co-op designation on my diploma?
What options do I have to intern if I co-op?
Is tuition charged for the co-op course?
Is a grade given for the co-op course?
What happens if I accept an intern/co-op job offer, but decide on another company? May I rescind my acceptance?
You must go to work for the company that hires you first. If you renege on the agreement, the Career Center reserves the right to refuse registering your job, or providing further service to you. Companies seek to plan hiring several months out. Your voiding of the agreement causes inconvenience and further expense on their part, which negatively impacts Georgia Tech.
Under what conditions can I change my co-op employer, or terminate my co-op?
You are required to complete at least three work terms with the same employer to receive the co-op designation. However, if you change your major, or the company downsizes and no longer employs you, your career advisor can help you figure out how to find another position so you can complete the co-op program.
Is a grade given, or tuition charged for the audit course I am enrolled in when I register my job with the Career Center?
Your audit course serves as ‘placeholder’ for you in your school schedule, and does not cost or receive a grade. The course maintains your Tech enrollment, and appears on your transcript. Successful work terms appear as a ‘V’, unsuccessful as a ‘W’. In order to succeed, intern and co-op students must work a total of 16 weeks in either fall or spring semester. Co-ops must work a minimum of 12 weeks in a summer semester, interns must work at least ten weeks in a summer semester.
What happens if I don’t register my internship?
If you don’t register your internship, the Career Center will not be able to provide support for you on the job, nor will you be considered a full-time student that semester. All students benefit from registering their jobs through having an Ombudsman to assist with any challenges that occur on the worksite.