Work-study (federally subsidized campus employment) in the later twentieth century became a formal and major component of Student financial aid in the United States.
The University of Waterloo has a co-operative education program with more than 19,000 students enrolled in co-op programs and more than 5,200 active co-op employers. Their five-year co-op program includes twenty four months of work experience. Enrolling in the co-op program at the University of Waterloo does not guarantee co-op employment. The school requires students to have a minimum of sixteen to twenty months of valid work experience (depending on the program of study) to successfully complete their academic program. Despite a high percentage of employment via the coop program, many students obtain employment by other methods, including a student's personal networks and unpaid full-time volunteering positions.
Since its inception in 1975, the co-operative education program at Simon Fraser University (SFU) has grown to more than 8,400 students seeking paid work experiences across the globe. SFU's co-op programs span the faculties of Applied Sciences, Arts & Social Sciences, Business, Communication, Art & Technology, Education, Environment, Health Sciences, and Science. The University has worked with over 6,000 employers worldwide. An SFU student has won the Canada-wide title "Co-op Student of the Year" four times.
Wilfrid Laurier University and the Lazaridis School of Business & Economics provide a co-op business program with a competitive entry limited to about one-third of the students who start the BBA program in their first-year. It offers three four-month work terms. Additionally, the school offers a co-op MBA program for high calibre students with less than two years of work experience.
The University of British Columbia's co-operative education program includes over three thousand students from the faculties of Arts, Commerce, Engineering, Forestry, Kinesiology, and Science.
The University of Victoria (UVic)'s co-operative education program offers hands-on learning opportunities for close to half of UVic students, with the number growing each year. Optional or mandatory co-op is available in almost every academic discipline. All UVic co-op students complete a professional practice course prior to their first work term, including intercultural training to help them contribute positively to diverse workplaces. Students also reflect on each work term experience using a competency-based framework. UVic's Co-op Program includes dedicated support for Indigenous and international students, and has developed unique international co-op exchange partnerships with employers and post-secondaries around the globe. The program launched in 1976.
All Antioch College students participate in the college's Co-Op Program as part of their academic requirements for graduation. Under the program, students spend a total of four twelve-week terms, distributed throughout their undergraduate years, working as paid, full-time employees in local, national, or international settings. The program at Antioch, which is located in Yellow Springs, Ohio, began in 1921.
The University of New South Wales (NSW) in Sydney provides an industry linked Co-op Scholarship. Students receive a scholarship of A$17,000 per annum for each year of their degree and current offerings span twenty four areas in business, engineering, science, and the built environment. Along with industry experience, the Co-op Program incorporates leadership and professional development in addition to networking and mentoring opportunities.
The Florida Institute of Technology has a condensed cooperative education program allowing students to graduate in four years with three-semester work terms. This program is only followed by engineering students and requires students to take online coursework while they are working full-time as a cooperative education student.
Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has one of the nation's oldest, largest, and best-known cooperative education programs. 91% of undergraduate students in over 75 majors participate in the co-op program. During their time at Drexel, students experience up to three different co-ops and gain up to 18 months of working experience. With over 1,700 employers in its network, Drexel's cooperative education program connects students with industry leaders across 35 states and 45 countries. Drexel's cooperative education program allows students to not only explore future careers, but also bring their cooperative education experiences back to the classroom. As a result of cooperative education, Drexel students graduate having already built a professional network, and they typically receive higher starting salaries than their counterparts from other schools. Students may also elect to participate in a Research Co-op to prepare them for a career in research or graduate school or an Entrepreneurship Co-op that will, in collaboration with the Close School of Entrepreneurship, assist them in establishing their own ongoing business. Specialized co-op experiences are also offered at the graduate level.
Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts has a co-operative education program started in 1909. The program places about five thousand students annually with more than 2,500 co-op employers in Boston, across the United States, and around the globe. A student graduating from Northeastern with a five-year bachelor's degree has a total of eighteen months of internship experience with up to three different companies.
Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) began cooperative education in 1912.
Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) started cooperative education in 1912.
Kettering University in Flint, Michigan enrolls students in co-operative education from their first year on campus, specializing in engineering, science, and management degree programs.
Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University (DHBW) (Germany) has a co-operative education program with more than 34,000 students (2016) enrolled and more than 9,000 co-op employers. The three-year co-op undergraduate programs include one and a half year of compulsory internships. DHBW offers job integrated learning (JIL) programs only. In JIL, every DHBW student has to be employed by a single company during the complete duration of the study program. Lectures and compulsory internships are geared to maximize applied learning. Founded on March 1, 2009, DHBW traces its roots back to the Berufsakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg (founded 1974).
Steinbeis Center of Management and Technology of Steinbeis University Berlin offers an international masters program (Master of Business Engineering) for graduates and young professionals which integrates practical and theoretical learning, along with on the job training by managing projects for a sponsoring company.
Wentworth Institute of Technology has a two-semester co-operative education program with an optional third semester in the sophomore summer. Every student in the Institute is required to do two co-ops. Co-operative education has been active since 1975 with over one thousand students in a co-op each year.
EPUSP - Escola Politecnica da Universidade de São Paulo offers cooperative education in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
TOBB University of Economics and Technology offers cooperative education in Ankara, Turkey.
Purdue University has a top ten-ranked cooperative education program that was established in 1964. Originally exclusive to students in the College of Engineering, the co-op program is now available to students in 48 different disciplines in 8 of the academic colleges on campus. Purdue offers 5-session and 3-session co-op programs but differs from most universities in that students spend all 5 or 3 work sessions with the same employer, earning raises and gaining progressive responsibilities for each subsequent work rotation, for a total of 12-16 months of work experience. Both programs are 5-year academic programs, though students only pay tuition while studying on campus and pay a small administrative fee during each co-op work rotation. As of July 2014, there were over 600 students enrolled in co-op programs and over 500 qualified employers with locations around the nation and across the globe.
To complete a bachelor of education at any Australian university, the individual must complete a minimum of 36 weeks of Practirum in a school faced environment doing work placement in their desired field, which includes helping the teacher to teaching a fully planned out class.
For Australian high school students who are not completing ATAR courses, work placement is highly encouraged to gain necessary credits to complete graduation