Science Laboratory Technology Co-op Education

Overview

Co-operative education blends on-the-job experience with classroom studies by incorporating a paid employment term as part of your academic program. Co-operative education extends the learning process beyond Red River College Polytechnic into the professional business world by forming a partnership between you, your employer and the College.

Science Laboratory Technology Co-Op Education

Red River College Polytechnic integrates co-op education in some academic programs. The Science Laboratory Technology program currently offers a co-op term as an option following the second year of the program. This term typically runs from May to August, during which time the student normally works full time as a regular employee for a specific company, organization or branch of government.

Student Benefits

As a co-operative education student, you play an active role and assume responsibility for the learning process. Co-operative education enables you to relate classroom study to real-life work settings. It provides you with opportunities to experience the practical aspect of your chosen field and to get a clearer understanding of the requirements and expectations of employers. You obtain work in your field that provides you with valuable experience and a network of contacts in your chosen field and you are also compensated by your employer.

Who Can Apply?

To apply for a co-operative education placement, you must have completed all courses in the first two years of the program and have a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or higher. If you decide that co-op is not for you, you can instead elect to complete an unpaid industry-related project in your final term.

Co-op Education Work Term Fee

All students enrolled in a co-operative education work term are required to pay a co-operative education fee. This fee covers the costs associated with developing and operating co-operative education programs. Co-operative education fees include all mandatory student and technology fees. The fee for a co-op work term is reduced relative to the cost for a standard four-month academic term.

Potential Employers

Students from the Science Laboratory Technology program have been successfully in finding co-op positions at a wide variety of workplaces for over 20 years. Some representative employers include:

• The National Microbiology Laboratory
• Pollard Banknote
• The City of Winnipeg
• Agriculture Canada
• Maple Leaf
• Emergent Biosolutions

Additional Information

For additional information about requirements for co-operative education, follow these steps:

1. Go to Red River College Polytechnic’s Program and Course Catalogue
2. Under Full-time Programs, from the Choose Your Interest dropdown list, select Health Sciences.
3. From the Choose Your Program dropdown list, select Science Laboratory Technology.
4. On the program page, from the menu, select CO-OP/Practicum Information.

If you have other questions, please contact us via the form below.