<p>I am looking for a business program for my S that has regularly built in internships. I have a friend who's D is at U of Cinn. in the architecture school who takes classes for 2 quarters, 1 quarter working, etc. The internship is an integral part of the degree. The internships take place all over the country. Hers have been in Baltimore and now Berkeley. Appearently the business school has the same but the internships aren't required or even stressed much. Does anyone have any suggestions?</p>
<p>Northeastern</p>
<p>Finding a school with a good co-op program was one of the things we looked at for my S. He ended up at Northeastern-engineering but I think Northeastern and U of Cinn are the two known best for their co-op program although there are several other good programs out there. During our college search I learned about an organization called the National Commission for Cooperative Education, whose members include many of the top co-op schools in the country, which may be a good starting point; here's a link to their site:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.co-op.edu/index.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.co-op.edu/index.htm</a></p>
<p>Check out the co-op guide which lists and describes each school. Some may be better for business than others. NCCE also offers several $5000 renewable scholarships each year to freshmen students who attend their schools, so keep that in mind if you do consider any of these schools, and the application form can also be found at their site.</p>
<p>Just for the record, most "internships" at Cincinnati are paid coops and not unpaid internships.</p>
<p>Secondly,unlike Northeastern and other schools with internships, Cincinnati coops are usually mandatory and inculcated to the curriculum. I know this is true for the DAAP school and maybe probably true for business too.</p>
<p>So, in other words, Univ of Cinn offers less flexibility to students who prefer a traditional 4-yr undergrad program?</p>
<p>I am not familiar with Univ of Cinn at all, because it was never on S's radar due to rankings for his degree and location. He is currently at Northeastern, majoring in engineering, and, like the majority of students who attend NEU, he chose it in order to do co-ops. </p>
<p>Basically here's how co-op works at NEU: For several degrees or programs the student can choose a traditional 4 yr program by doing only one or two co-ops; most students follow a 5 yr program which will mean three co-ops (each 6 months long) and taking classes in the summer in order to graduate in 5 yrs. There are some programs which do not require co-op, but all students can do co-op, most of them do, and most follow a 5-yr program. (note there are also some special programs that follow a six-yr program, eg pharmacy) If you are following a 5-yr plan, you still only pay for 4 yrs worth of tuition and are on paid co-op the rest of the time. Most students will begin co-ops after their soph yr. after taking a mandatory course taught by a co-op advisor in their soph yr which helps prepare them for co-op (eg, how to interview, write resumes, locate and apply for co-ops etc). The sophomore class is then split into two and one group starts co-ops in the middle of the summer after soph yr, and work all fall semester; the other group will start their first co-op in the second semester of their third (middler) year going into the summer. </p>
<p>So, like the Univ of Cinn, co-op is very much "inculcated to the curriculum" (as is the case with most other "co-op" schools) and obviously is an important factor as far as when/how courses are scheduled or offered, hiring of faculty, etc. And despite some apparently strong rivalry between proponents for both schools, they are both thought of very highly within the co-op world; Northeastern however, has tended to get higher rankings for its co-op program.</p>
<p>Of course, there are other more traditional schools out there with good/mandatory internship opportunities (both paid and unpaid, the major difference being that you do not take off time from school to attend an internship, but either take them during school or while taking classes at the same time); these may take more researching since they will depend more on the major...</p>
<p>sorry--typo, internships are often taken during summer...</p>
<p>Scansmom notes,"I am not familiar with Univ of Cinn at all, because it was never on S's radar due to rankings for his degree and location. He is currently at Northeastern, majoring in engineering, and, like the majority of students who attend NEU, he chose it in order to do co-ops."</p>
<p>You also note,"Northeastern however, has tended to get higher rankings for its co-op program"</p>
<p>Response: Where did you see that Northeastern was higher ranked in coops? I can't find this ranking other than those that mention that top 10 coops. I have seen Northeastern tout this,but I can't seem to find any rankings that show that Northeastern is more highly ranked than Cincinnati or other schools in the top 10 ranked coop programs. Let me note that I am not doubting your word, I just can't find any ranking to support your or Northeastern's statement.</p>
<p>Response: I have checked with the Cincinnati business program, and it does seem to be optional for them but highly encouraged. Almost any student who wishes a coop can get one. I am not sure whether it is mandatory for engineering students or whether it is optional.</p>
<p>It may surprise you to note that Northeastern did not start the coop addition to educaton. It was started by Cincinnati. Northeastern initially modeled their program after that of Cincinnati, which is why the programs are quite similar.</p>
<p>As for rankings, Yes, Northeastern is higher ranked for graduate school than Cincinnati overall but definitely not for all programs. It really does depend on the programs. For example, Northeastern isn't known for its strong design and art, and architecture programs and isn't even accredited by the National Schools of Art and Design. This is NOT to say that Northeastern isn't a good school. It just isn't as well ranked as Cincinnati for a number of majors.</p>
<p>Also like Northeastern, students do not pay tuition while on coop and even don't pay for dorm space if not living in the dorm due to coop.</p>
<p>Frankly, in a number of ways, I think both schools are good and also very similar. However, Cincinnati net of their Cincinnatus scholarship, which many people get, is about $7,000 cheaper than Northeastern per year in addition to having cheaper room and board. After all, it is cheaper to live in Cincinnati than Boston. However, I have to admit, I do love Boston.Whether I and others love it enough to justify an $8,000 yearly difference is a matter of choice.</p>
<p>Agreed. Schools in Cinncinnati do tend to be cheaper than schools in Boston. Apples and oranges in that respect. Most if not all of the other top co-op schools are also much cheaper. Even more apples and oranges. (In recent years Northeastern has been focusing on raising its overall rankings (finally broke into the top 100 universities this year), and have mostly been competing against tier 1/tier 2 schools on the east that are equally as expensive: BU, BC, Tufts etc). </p>
<p>As to co-op rankings, US News first began ranking co-op programs in 2003; that year, NEU was ranked #1. Since then, US News stopped number ranks and only listed top schools - after all, they are all unique and different and cannot easily be compared. In all fairness, I should not have even mentioned anything to imply "higher" co-op rankings (rankings should always be taken with a grain of salt anyway) other than saying that they are both highly regarded. As are many of the other top ones. (OP--I forgot you can also look at the US News list for ideas for other schools, although a lot overlap with the NCCE ones).</p>