Bioengineering

Co-op Requirements

Students must complete a minimum of three cooperative education experiences before graduation. To receive full credit for each co-op experience, students must complete the following:

  1. Register for BIOE 3940:00x prior to the start of each co-op rotation. The section number of BIOE 3940 reflects which co-op experience a student is completing - BIOE 3940:001 for the first co-op, BIOE 3940:002 for the second co-op, etc.
  2. Submit the student co-op evaluation form prior to the end of each co-op rotation.
  3. Have the immediate supervisor complete the employer co-op evaluation form prior to the end of each co-op rotation.
  4. Pay the co-op fee for each co-op assignment. Students must pay this fee by the published due date to avoid being charged a late fee on their account.
The schedule of co-op rotations is determined by the curriculum plan assigned to students during their first year. Most students are assigned to Plan A or Plan D; varsity athletes, ROTC and students qualifying for the accelerated pre-med option are eligible for Plan C (summer co-ops only). FAILURE TO ADHERE TO THE ASSIGNED SCHEDULE OF CO-OP ROTATIONS MAY DELAY GRADUATION BY A YEAR OR MORE. Students that wish to switch plans or with other special circumstances must submit a written request for an individualized plan, along with supporting documentation, to the Undergraduate Program Director.

After the first three co-op assignments have been completed, additional work assignments with a co-op employer prior to graduation will be considered to be a co-op rotation. Students may register for BIOE 3950:004 and BIOE 3950:005 to complete optional 4th and 5th co-ops. Students will not be assessed the co-op fee for these optional co-op rotations.

Financial aid
Students who are registered for an engineering co-op are considered to be full-time students by the University. Students who are financial aid recipients have the option of receiving federal financial aid (grants and loans) and/or alternative loans for the terms they are on a co-op. State financial aid programs and UT recruitment/merit scholarships cannot be used during a co-op term. To request to use federal financial aid and/or alternative loans during a co-op term, students must send an email from their rockets.utoledo.edu email account to the Office of Student Financial Aid at utfinaid@utoledo.edu that includes:

  • "ENG Co-op" on the subject line
  • the student's full name and rocket number
  • the co-op term for which financial aid is being requested
  • the name(s) of the financial aid program(s) the student is requesting to use
Students should allow three working days for their request to be processed and should be aware that financial aid will not pay to their student account until the first day of the term. The last day to request to use financial aid during a co-op term is the last day of the withdrawal period for that term. Students who receive UT recruitment/merit scholarships must notify the Scholarship Services Office of their co-op so that their scholarship can be shifted to a future term.

Students wishing to use their scholarship for summer enrollment must notify the Scholarship Services Office and must complete a summer aid application (available in late January/early February at http://www.utoledo.edu/financialaid/). To notify the Scholarship Services Office of a co-op or to request to use a scholarship for summer enrollment, students must send an email from their rockets.utoledo.edu email account to Scholarship Services at financialaidscholarship@utoledo.edu.

Note that co-op classes receive grades just like any other class. If a co-op class is not graded during the regular grading period, students will be cited for a lack of satisfactory academic progress. Further payments of financial aid will not be made until the class is graded and the students have met all other satisfactory academic progress criteria. Be sure to complete and submit your co-op evaluation before the co-op ends.

Obtaining a co-op position
The role of the Engineering Co-op office is to help students find co-op employment. However, the ultimate responsibility for obtaining a position lies with the student. This means the student must research, select, and successfully interview with companies for which they want to work. To receive placement assistance from the Engineering Co-op office, students should do the following:

  • Register for and complete the requirements of BIOE 1010 Professional Development during their second year.
  • Register with the Career Management Center to submit an updated resume and updated contact information to the co-op office at the beginning of semester.
  • Keep in regular contact with the co-op office about potential opportunities during the semester before a scheduled co-op rotation. This includes reading emails on your ENG account regularly to receive notices of available positions.
  • Inform the co-op office of all interviews, offers, and work assignments. Students must notify the co-op office if any workplace problems should arise during the co-op rotation.
Students are permitted (and encouraged) to seek positions from employers outside of those that have existing relationships with the co-op program. Any position obtained by the student should have a substantial bioengineering component, and students must provide a written description of the position to the Undergraduate Program Director and to the Associate Director of Co-op for approval.

Because of the interdisciplinary nature of Bioengineering, students are allowed to complete one co-op experience in an engineering position that does not involve a biomedical application. All positions must be full-time (40 hours per week) for a minimum of 16 weeks during the Fall and Spring semesters, 12 weeks during the summer semester. Co-ops must coincide with academic semesters.
Last Updated: 6/27/22