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Co-Ops & Internships

Program Overview

Experiential Learning Philosophy 
The underlying philosophy of the cooperative education (co-op) and applied learning (intern) program is that the integration of academic training with professional experience provides a comprehensive education. Learning to apply theory to the world of work produces a combination of applied knowledge and experience essential to the educational process.

Terminology

Internship:
An internship is a form of experiential learning that integrates knowledge and theory learned in the classroom with practical application and skills development in a professional setting. Internships give students the opportunity to gain valuable applied experience and make connections in professional fields they are considering for career paths, as well as give employers the opportunity to guide and evaluate talent. Internships may be paid or unpaid, and students receive academic credit.

Co-op:
Cooperative education is defined as a method of study that incorporates career-related work experience into the curriculum.

Handshake:
Handshake is the online platform that Eastern Kentucky University uses to manage, track and legally document student co-ops and internships from application to completion. Students have access to a free Handshake account using their EKU email address, from enrolled to alumni status. Students can search  and apply for co-op and internship opportunities directly on Handshake, along with other employment search platforms/resources. Upon initial application approval, students will create a Handshake Experience to track their co-op/internship from start to finish.

Quick Reference Guide

To participate in a co-op or internship for course credit, you must:

  • Have a minimum 2.0 GPA
  • Have a declared major
  • Have completed 30 credit hours
  • Have completed at least one semester at EKU
  • Not be enrolled in another co-op or internship course

Some employers and academic programs may have additional requirements. Contact your faculty co-op coordinator for program-specific information.

Ready to turn your real-world experience into college credit? Follow these four simple steps to request approval and register your co-op or internship.

  • Meet with your faculty co-op coordinator: Your faculty co-op coordinator will help you determine whether your internship or co-op qualifies for course credit and answer questions about your program’s requirements. Find your coordinator.
  • Submit your co-op/internship request: Complete the online request form to begin the approval process. The EKU office of College Enrollment & Career Readiness will review your eligibility and send instructions for the next steps.
  • Register your experience in Handshake: Log in to Handshake using your EKU email address. Select “Experiences” and choose “Submit an Experience” to register your co-op/internship. Your experience will be reviewed by your employer/supervisor, faculty co-op coordinator and the enrollment and career readiness team.
  • Learn, earn and complete your experience: Once your experience is approved, you’ll begin earning course credit while gaining valuable, real-world experience.

Student Guide

Who can participate in a co-op/internship?

Students interested in participating in a co-op/internship must have:

  • A minimum 2.0 GPA to be registered in a co-op/internship course
  • A declared major
  • 30 academic credit hours completed*
  • Completed at least one semester at EKU prior to enrolling in a co-op/internship experience
  • Not have a previous 349 or 849 already in progress

*Employers and specific departments/majors may have higher requirements. For questions about specific college/major requirements, please contact your faculty co-op coordinator. If you are interested in participating in a co-op/internship without seeking class credit, please contact the enrollment & career readiness coordinator.

How to Apply

  • Fill out and submit the co-op/internship request form
  • Requests will be reviewed and responded to within 5 business days. Upon approval from the enrollment and career services team, you will receive an email with instructions for Handshake setup/experience registration.
  • Handshake Setup: Activate your free Handshake account using your EKU email address
  • Handshake Experience Registration Process
  • On your Handshake homepage, click on “Career Center” in the left navigation bar
  • Click on “Experiences”
  • Click on “Submit an Experience”, either by blue button or the tab at the top of the page
  • Fill out the experience details, and click on the green “Submit an Experience” button at the bottom right corner of the page
  • Your experience will be reviewed by three individuals: employer/supervisor (contact info provided by you), faculty co-op coordinator (contact info provided by you) and the enrollment and career readiness team. Each approval stage can take up to 5 days. Once all approvals have been met, you will receive notification and your course credit will be submitted to the EKU Registrar’s office to be added to your degree works schedule for the term you requested.

Deadlines for Co-op/Internship Registration by Term:

  • Fall 2026 – November 16
  • Winter 2026 – January 15
  • Spring 2027 – April 19
  • Summer 2027 – July 26

Faculty Co-op Coordinator Information

Students can use the faculty co-op coordinator directory to find contact information for their assigned faculty co-op coordinator. Students must know their major field of study to correctly identify their faculty co-op coordinator.

Faculty co-op coordinators serve as a support system to the student intern during their co-op/internship experience. Faculty co-op coordinators are not required to aid in the discovery of co-op internship opportunities, but can often provide resources and contacts to aid in that pursuit.

Faculty co-op coordinator approval is the first step in applying for a co-op/internship experience. They will also act as a secondary check/balance step in the Handshake approval process with oversight of applications, job descriptions and their relevancy to the course students are requesting credit for. Faculty co-op coordinators will review the student’s time sheets and complete final evaluations before issuing a grade at the end of the term.

Student’s faculty co-op coordinators may check on them at mid-term. If problems develop, the employer/supervisor should contact the faculty co-op coordinator, as well as the enrollment and career readiness contact to resolve the issue with the student’s performance.

The employer/supervisor is also requested to evaluate the student’s performance at the completion of the experience. This assists the university in measuring a student’s progress and in helping a student understand what qualities they should strive to improve. The evaluation is usually submitted through an email sent from Handshake.

Co-op/Internship Student Information

Students participating in a co-op/internship have a great opportunity to apply skills they have learned in the classroom into a real-world work environment. Interning while in college provides students with many opportunities to network and market themselves prior to entering the working world.

Experience Eligibility

  • Co-op experiences are to be completed during the semester designated in the Experience application.
  • Fall/Spring Term – 12 weeks (6 weeks + 6 weeks) long
  • Summer/Winter term – 5 weeks long
  • Co-op/internship experiences must be relevant to the student’s declared major and give the student work experience needed for employment post graduation.
  • Students can receive up to 8 credit hours for one co-op/internship experience per semester. More than one co-op/internship experience per semester is not allowed.
  • Students must successfully work a minimum of 80 working hours to earn at least .5 or 1 academic credits for an entire semester. Students eligible for the maximum of 8 co-op/internship credit hours in the span of a semester will work 640 equivalent hours.
  • Students cannot use past work/co-op/internship experiences for credit. Only work completed DURING the semester, for which the student is registered, can be counted for credit. Please consult the timesheet for the semester you intend to submit for clarification of weeks accepted for counted hours.
  • Timesheets are located on Handshake in the “Career Center” tab, filed under “Resources”.
  • Students cannot be supervised by family members or other students. Former students are allowed to host internships.
  • Students must be in an environment where they are completing worthwhile, hands-on, industry-related tasks and be supervised and mentored by an industry professional who can aid in their professional development.
  • Credit hours requested cannot be changed during the semester unless unforeseeable instances occur (major illness, leave of absence, employer’s needs change) and require written approval from the enrollment & career services contact and the student’s academic department.
  • Positions in direct sales or independent contract work (1099 employment) cannot be used for credit.
  • Elected or appointed positions in organizations/clubs/etc cannot be used for credit.

Student Expectations and Responsibilities

There are several responsibilities that cooperative education and internship students have during their periods of employment. Students must:

  • Adhere to all policies of the employing firm, including personal appearance requirements.
  • Co-op/internship students must complete both the EKU Co-op/Internship Program Orientation Agreement and the EKU Waiver of Liability, Assumption of Risk, and Indemnity Agreement and return completed documents to the co-op/internship coordinator.
  • Fulfill the weekly and hourly commitment mutually agreed upon by the student and the co-op/internship employer prior to the start of the internship.
  • Report to work promptly, in the event of illness or emergency, notify their immediate supervisor and staff promptly. Student Intern attendance is extremely important.
  • Continue to pursue academic requirements toward a degree.

Program Guidelines

Student Application Process

Students interested in participating in a co-op/internship must have*:

  • A minimum of 2.0 GPA to be registered in a co-op/internship course
  • A declared major
  • 30 academic credit hours completed
  • Completed at least one semester at EKU, prior to enrolling in a co-op/internship experience

*Employers and specific departments/majors may have higher requirements. For questions about specific college/major requirements, please contact your faculty co-op coordinator. If you are interested in participating in a co-op/internship without seeking class credit, please contact the enrollment & career readiness coordinator.

Enrollment & Career Readiness Staff Responsibilities

  • Facilitate and advise through student application process above.
  • Verify the student has the correct supervisor listed. Compare with the supervisor listed under the “Job Details”.
  • Verify the student has the correct faculty coordinator. Verify correct email.
  • Double check what course the student wants to receive credit in under “Job Details”.
  • Assign the student to the correct faculty coordinator.
  • Check that the student has listed the correct dates for that term. The first date they can begin counting their hours, and the last date they can count their hours.
  • Verify student ID with Slate form
  • Be sure that the student has a thorough job description listed.
  • Place their major name in the correct format.
  • Be sure the student has listed a number of credit hours that work well, and is reasonable for the amount of time they have to complete the hours.
  • Email the student if their dates are wrong, credit hours don’t match with date working or etc.
  • Check two previous approvals for notes before submitting final approval. Update complete status in Slate form.
  • Each approval is set to allow 5 days of review time. If an approver doesn’t approve/decline within the 5 days, the approval stage will expire and ECRC will have to restart.
  • If an experience is declined by either previous approver, ECRC will notify student and update Slate form.
  • Approve experience and add “sent to registrar month/day” in approver comments and update Slate form.
  • Fill in registrar form.
  • If a student is rejected by the registrar’s office using the registration log, ECRC will work with the student to give instructions and resolve the issue.
  • If a student requests a change to their registration after it is added by the registrar, ECC will submit a co-op change request form to registrar.

Co-op/Internship Employer/Supervisor Responsibilities

  • Define the student interns’ duties and responsibilities, ensuring the duties and responsibilities are directly tied to a student’s learning objectives.
  • Instruct the student with respect to company policy and define expected work tasks, outlining duties and responsibilities.
  • The co-op/internship work supervisor must assist with and agree to the terms established when reviewing/evaluating the students co-op/internship experience request.
  • The supervisor should take an active role in mentoring and be available for meetings or conversations with both the student and the faculty coordinator.
  • Provide a safe working and learning environment to their interns.
  • Contact enrollment and career readiness if problems arise during the student’s co-op/internship experience.
  • At the end of the semester, students will submit their timesheet to their co-op/internship Experience on Handshake to be reviewed by their department faculty coordinator. Supervisors must validate students’ work and sign their timesheet prior to students’ submission.
  • An evaluation will be emailed from Handshake to the site supervisor 5 days before the end of the student’s co-op/internship experience timeline. The supervisor will submit an evaluation to determine the student’s success in their co-op/internship experiential learning experience.

FAQs

Yes. Students will be able to view if their experience is being reviewed by their employer/supervisor, faculty co-op coordinator or the college enrollment and career services team.

Sometimes emails can be routed to an employer’s spam/junk inbox. To ensure they receive all pertinent information from Handshake, have them add the following email contacts to their email client contact list: handshake@m.joinhandshake.com or handshake@notifications.joinhandshake.com

Yes. Though we encourage our employer partners to utilize all the great features that Handshake offers.