co-op program
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Co-operative Education is one of the keystones of the Architecture program at the University of Waterloo.
Beginning in second year, students alternate 4-month school terms with 4-month paid terms working for architects and designers. The Co-operative Program allows students to experience first hand the nature and variety of the work the profession offers. Work terms also make it possible to acquire a wide array of specific skills, discipline and experience which are placed in a balance with the more exploratory and speculative work which goes on in the Design Studio program. The benefit of diverse job and cultural experience come to virtually every student. Most spend at least one work term outside Canada and no one does all his or her work terms at one firm or in one city. This brings an extraordinary variety and maturity to the senior classes.
Because of the work-study sequence, the School of Architecture operates all year round, but the entire student body is never together in Cambridge at one time. This situation appears to be unique to this School. By the same token Waterloo students have created a strong set of regional, national and international connections on work terms.
When in Cambridge, students work in the School, spending a great deal of time in the Design Studio. It is the site of most of their activity since few cosmopolitan distractions exist. The work term comes and the members of a class are distributed to offices quite literally the world over. The interview process is managed and supported by the Co-operative Education and Career Services Department. Employer interviews take place on site, in Toronto, and by mail and telephone with distant locations. Jobs and information are also passed, officially or unofficially, from student to student, year to year.
Recent breakthroughs in student placements in offices in Japan, Germany and Spain all came about as a result of student initiative provoked by the co-op program and nurtured by the truly global perspective that exists in the School. The opportunities that exist at the present time are extraordinary. The number of jobs on offer is often greater than the number of students available to fill them. There is a wide range of choices, especially for upper-year students, and salaries are very good.
Co-op offers very direct benefits to the students: income and connections in practice. These are of great importance in that they make it possible for students to be virtually independent through their university careers and to graduate, in many cases, into established positions in architectural firms, corporate positions, other business enterprises, or government agencies.
For more information, take a look at the right side menu or at Co-operative Education and Career Services (CECS).
THE STUDY WORK SEQUENCE
The Co-operative system requires students to alternate periods of study with periods of employment. The period of employment is called a work term. The School of Architecture requires students to complete a minimum of 5 out of 6 work terms.
With 6 co-op work terms during the pre-professional degree, you will graduate with 2 years of valuable work experience and a network of career contacts. Students working in the US can earn up to $18 an hour, or up to $10,000 US per work term.
University staff members recruit employers and post job descriptions for you to review. You decide which jobs to apply to based on where they are located, the skills you wish to develop, and what you can bring to the job. Many of the international jobs are arranged by students who approach the firms they want to work for. Although jobs are not guaranteed, our employment rate is consistently above 97%.
Recent co-op employers
• Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates International New York and London
• Arquitectonica International Miami, New York LA Paris, Madrid
• Diamond and Schmitt Architects Incorporated Toronto
• Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects Toronto
• Busby Perkins & Will Vancouver
WORK REPORTS
The School of Architecture requires students to submit four work reports, one in each of their first four work terms. For specific information on each work report, go to
http://www.architecture.uwaterloo.ca/Arch_Work_Report_Guidelines.pdf
The terminal work report requires that students engage the profession and acquire a mentor and begin the completion of their Canadian Experience Record Book. A pdf of the book can be downloaded here.