Co-op
Start your career now. Join Co-op
Interested in putting a company like Google or Microsoft on your resume before graduating? Would you like to work with a start-up before it’s the next big thing? Co-op lets you gain paid work experience - hone your skills and impress future employers as part of your program. It’s an experience not to be missed.
Over 85% of our co-op students find employment within three months of graduation through the network they built while working with their co-op employers.
“Gaining work experience early on helps you tailor your areas of concentration for the final two years of study.”
- Sabrina Dalen, co-op student
What is Co-op?
Co-op lets you enter the workforce after graduation with up to 20 months of practical (and paid) work experience that also earns you course credits. It’s a great way to try different things out and build different skills before choosing which career path you want to follow.
What’s in it for you?
Ask any Computing Science student to name one of the best and most useful experiences of their program. The chances are they’ll say “co-op” and reel off a host of reasons why.
Here’s our Top 10:
- Put your academic knowledge into practice in a real-world setting
- Explore different career options before you graduate
- Improve your job search skills, including successful cover letter writing and interview techniques
- Build a network of professional contacts
- Add experience to your resume and gain a competitive advantage
- Impress your co-op employer enough and earn a job offer after graduation
- Earn an income while earning course credits
- Help build a strong application for graduate studies
- Gain local, national and international work experience
- Learn important ‘soft’ skills such as time management, communication and workplace etiquette
Who will you work for?
SFU Computing Science posts jobs from more than 350 active employers looking for students. Imagine adding one or more of the companies listed below to your resume.
- SAP
- Mobify
- Electronic Arts
- HSBC
- Sony Picture Imageworks
- Microsoft
- Blackberry
- Telus
Metro Vancouver is home to local and international companies in finance, software development, telecommunications, gaming, bioinformatics and many more. Co-op students have completed work terms in Vancouver and across Canada, as well as internationally in the USA, Japan, France, Austria, the UK, China, Taiwan, Korea and Chile.
What kind of work will you do?
Co-op is the perfect opportunity to explore different career areas. Past co-op students have:
- Implemented software solutions at IBM to help improve the delivery of public health services to Canadians.
- Resolved artificial intelligence challenges for a new real-time strategy game from Vancouver game development company Blackbird Interactive.
- Completed acceptance and stream enablement test cases as part of a SAP software development team.
- Worked in the training department of the robotic Canadarm for the Canadian Space Agency.
Can I take the program if I am an international student?
Yes, after completing the necessary steps to obtain a work permit. Please contact your co-op coordinator for more information.
What types of jobs are available to Computing Science students?
Here's a list of prospective jobs that SFU co-op employers have posted:
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Interested?
- Visit Computing Science co-op education for more details.
- Email fascoop@sfu.ca for more information or to speak to an advisor.
Co-op does not recommend you taking a course while on a work term. In order to get approval to take a course while on a co-op work term, you need to submit an appeal form to the School of Computing Science, including documentation proving that your supervisor supports this and will accommodate any time you need (ie. if there are particular dates/times for an exam or otherwise throughout the course).
* Please note that taking a course is a mutual agreement between you, the employer/supervisor, and the faculty member teaching the course at SFU. Please be advised we cannot and will not withdraw you from the course while on co-op at any time regardless of the circumstances. If the course you are requesting is outside of SFU you must complete an LOP through the Registrar's office. *