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:
- Go to Red River College Polytechnic’s Program and Course Catalogue
- Under Full-time Programs, from the Choose Your Interest dropdown list, select Health Sciences.
- From the Choose Your Program dropdown list, select Science Laboratory Technology.
- On the program page, from the menu, select CO-OP/Practicum Information.
If you have other questions, please contact us via the form below.