Co-Op Program

The inclusion of a co-op program allows students in Hofstra’s School of Engineering and Applied Science the opportunity to take advantage of the University’s close proximity to New York City, with its global commercial, financial and business reach.  With our students’ help, Hofstra is able to build a network of New York City and Long Island business partners that may be leveraged by graduates.  A full-time director manages the co-op program on a day-to-day basis and monitors the students’ experiences in the workplace, but there is also a faculty member assigned as an academic advisor and “point person” at the company acting as an advocate in the workplace and regularly communicating progress to the School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Based on the philosophy that learners learn best through active engagement in meaningful activities, our co-op program embraces the following notions:

• A view of students as active learners and producers of knowledge
• The use of instructional strategies such as contextual learning and the application of knowledge to real situations
• A common-sense requirement for schools to establish formal partnerships with outside entities
• A serious concern for integrating school experiences and external experiences, to the betterment of the educational encounter

Students become eligible for practice-based professional learning upon achieving sophomore status, and are accepted into the co-op program based on criteria such as GPA, recommendations, successful interviews with our partners, etc.  Participation is not mandatory and depends on the student’s personal educational goals.
Simon Ben-Avi, Ph.D.
Dean, School of Engineering and Applied Science