Find a Co-op or Internship

Cooperative Education is a University-wide, credit-bearing, experience-based learning program that provides students with preparation, counseling, academic projects and the opportunity to reflect on what is learned. It’s a great resume builder and a way to test out a career.

Full- and part-time, paid and unpaid co-op positions are available to students. These positions meet co-op work-learning criteria and are arranged for a minimum of ,one semester.

Cooperative Education vs. Internship Experience

Internships exist in a variety of forms: some are paid, some are not; some give college credit and some do not. The difference between an internship and other forms of employment is that all internships–no matter what kind–provide career-beginners with a temporary, “test-it-out” career-related experience.

Once approved, you can begin to search and apply for co-ops and internships.

We also recommend requesting an appointment with your Career Services office to discuss how to go about finding a position and how to receive credit for it. You may need to set up a second appointment once you have found a co-op/internship in order to enroll in a co-op course.

Request a new appointment:

1. Sign into Handshake using your NetID and Password.
2. Click Career Center in the upper-right corner of your screen or below the banner image on your homepage.
3. Click on Appointments, located under Montclair State’s logo
4. Click Schedule a New Appointment
5. Select the category that best applies

Helpful Resources

Use these resources to search for internships and Co-op opportunities, connect with career advisors, and prepare for the application process.

• Use Handshake to search for and apply to internships specifically offered to the Montclair State community!

• LinkedIn Internships: A helpful internship finder that uses the power of LinkedIn to help you take the first step in your professional career.

• Idealist.org: Posts internships for those who want to make the world a better place.

Once you have found a co-op/internship, you must Request a New Experience in your Handshake account.

• Sign into Handshake using your NetID and Password.
• Click Career Center on the top right corner of your homepage
• Under the section What Can We Help You Find?, choose Experiences
• Click the Request New Experience button
• Find the correct Experience Type based on your college/school and/or program of study
• Complete the co-op/internship application in its entirety, then Submit.

After your experience has been approved, you may need to set up a career counseling appointment to enroll in a co-op course. When scheduling your appointment, you must notify your counselor in the notes section of the request form that you already have an approved experience for the term.

Registration and Enrollment

• Once you accept an employment offer, submit your experience in Handshake, and receive approval from Career Services, you must obtain a permit from your Career Services office and register for the Co-op course prior to the last day of the Add/Drop period.

f you accept employment and wish to receive credit for the co-op/internship experience, you are required to enroll in a Co-op course. If you decide to not register for a Co-op course, you must notify your Career Services office immediately so that they can update your experience in Handshake as needed.

After You Register:

After your have enrolled into a Co-op course, you will meet with your Co-op Faculty Advisor to decide the terms of the learning agreement.

New Co-op/Internship Approval Process:

All credit-bearing co-op/internships are managed through Handshake. If you are seeking to credit for your co-op/internship experience,  Once you accept an employment offer, submit your experience in Handshake, and receive approval from Career Services, you must obtain a permit from your Career Services office and register for the Co-op course prior to the last day of the Add/Drop period.

If you accept employment and wish to receive credit for the co-op/internship experience, you are required to enroll in a Co-op course. If you decide to not register for a Co-op course, you must notify your Career Services office immediately so that they can update your experience in Handshake as needed.

After You Register:

After your have enrolled into a Co-op course, you will meet with your Co-op Faculty Advisor to decide the terms of the learning agreement.

Fall 2026

• August 28 - First day of the Co-op term.
• Sept 7 - Learning Agreement due. The signed agreement should be submitted to the course instructor after being completed with the internship supervisor
• October 16 - Midterm evaluations will be sent to supervisors via Handshake. Students will be notified via email that midterm evaluations must be completed
• October 23 - Midterm evaluations due to course instructor
• October 26 - Site visit period begins. Students should work with their site supervisor and course instructor to schedule.These can be conducted in-person or virtually
• December 2 - Final evaluations will be sent to supervisors via Handshake; Students will be notified via email that final evaluations must be completed. Student self-evaluations do not impact the course grade.They are used by Career Services for reporting and data purposes
• December 15 - Final evaluations due to course instructor, Student Self-Evaluation in Handshake due. This does not impact the course grade but is used by Career Services for reporting and data purposes
• December 16 - Last day of the Fall 2026 Co-op term.