• Gain confidence, skills and experience in a desired field
• Explore career options
• Easy transition into the working world after graduation
• Network with industry professionals
• Hands-on learning
• Enjoy student benefits (e.g. status, awards, references)
• Earn income, co-op credits and designation

We encourage undergraduate students to apply to the co-op program as soon as they finish their first year of study at UVic, or have completed an equivalent of first year Social Sciences coursework from another institution. Graduate students are encouraged to apply as soon as they enter their academic program.

We have one admission period each year: June 10 – September 20. 

Please find the information on the How to join Co-op page. 

The only difference between the two programs is how many work terms you complete before you graduate. You do not need to commit to a set number of work terms at any point.

When you apply for graduation, we will review the number of work terms you have accumulated.

For Social Sciences undergraduate students, you have completed 3 or more work terms alternating with academic terms, or 12 months of consecutive work, by the time you graduate to earn a co-op distinction.

For Social Sciences graduate students, you have completed 2 or more work terms alternating with academic terms by the time you graduate to earn a co-op distinction.

If you complete less than the required number of work terms for a co-op designation,  you will receive credit for work–experience on your transcript. 

All other facets of the programs are identical. Students have the same obligations and rights, access to the same jobs, etc. 

It’s not too late, however given that you need to complete the mandatory IPP class prior to looking for a work term job, you will have most success if you are already clear in the sector or field you want to secure a work term in. Contact your co-op coordinator to ensure you have a strategy in place to help you succeed in the co-op program with the limited academic terms you have left. Securing a job is not gauranteed so we advice students to apply earlier in their studies as it can take some practice and time to successfully secure a job for a work term.

If you don’t complete the 3 work terms required for co-op designation, let us know and our office can let Records know to switch you to work experience so that you can apply to graduate.

Yes you can now graduate on a work term, however we still strongly recommend that you try to be flexible on securing work terms before you are set to graduate as this provides with the most opportunities to secure a job relevant to your goals and field of interest.

Social Science Co-op is open to graduate students (both MSc. MA. and PhD) in the following programs: Anthropology, Economics Environmental Studies, Geography, Political Science, Psychology and Sociology. 

Graduate students are encouraged to apply as soon as they enter their academic program. All graduate students are eligible to participate if they obtain permission from their thesis/project supervisor. 

International students are able and encouraged to participate in all co-op programs. The co-op program can support you in applying for your co-op work permit.

Just know that the work permit can take up to 12 weeks to be approved by IRCC so we encourage students to plan for a summer co-op work term when they just join the co-op program. In rare cases you may be able to start your co-op work term in January, or Spring.

Transfer students are eligible to join co-op, using the same criteria as UVic students. To be admitted, you will need one year of social sciences coursework from the previous institution. 

If you have transferred to UVic from another institution, the co-op office can view your transcript – Just indicate that you are a transfer student on your enrolment form and upload your transcript from your previous institution when applying to coop.

If we require any additional information from you, we will reach out.

To join social sciences co-op, you must be a full-time student and have completed your first year of study. You should not have completed all the coursework for your degree as the program is meant to be completed during your curricular studies. For program-specific requirements, please check here. 

This is possible, depending on timing and other considerations. If this is the case for you, please make sure to contact your coordinator. 

This depends on timing and other considerations. If this is the case for you, please make sure to contact your coordinator.

This depends on timing and other considerations. If this is the case for you, please make sure to contact your coordinator. Please make sure to discuss this with your Coordinator ahead of time.

 If we are unable to accept your application, we will let you know why, outline steps for you to meet the requirements in the next round, and invite you to try again next year. There is no penalty for registering and not being approved – You are always encouraged to try again!

You will only need to pay the fee if and when you secure a co-op work term, once for every semester you spend working in a co-op job.

A co-op work term is finding any type of work that is paid, building your professional skills and acumen in your field, and full-time (at least 12 weeks of full time throughout duration of the semester), whether found on the co-op portal or through your own networking.

The fees will be assessed once you begin your work term, and will usually be due at the end of the first month of your work. Normally, you will start earning wages before your fees are due.   
 
You will pay co-op fees the same way you pay regular tuition fees. 

SOSC 200/500 is a 0– credit tutorial, and as such, has no associated fees.

The Co-op program fees for undergraduate students can be found in the UVic Undergraduate calendar, under the “Fees for undergraduate programs” section.

For all Social Sciences Co-op programs, fees are charged only if and when you secure a work term, once for every semester you spend working in a co-op job. 

More information about tuition and fees can be found here

The Co-op program fees for Graduate students can be found in the UVic Graduate Calendar, under the “Regulations concerning tuition fees for graduate programs” section.

For all Social Sciences Co-op programs, fees are charged only if and when you secure a work term, once for every semester you spend working in a co-op job. 

Please note that, as per The UVic Graduate Calendar, General Co-op Regulations, ”4. …Co-op students must either be registered in a work term or an academic term and are subject to regulations as outlined in Continuity of Registration.” If you are registered in a co-op work term, you will not have to pay the graduate registration fee (596, 598, 599, or 699) unless taking coursework or defending your thesis concurrently with your co-op project. More information about tuition and fees can be found here

The co-op office works hard to provide value for your co-op fees. While you pay these “on-delivery” (when you secure a job to count towards your co-op work term), these fees go towards the support of our programs in items such as: 

• Developing our instructional materials, including SOSC 200/500 and all other materials across Co-op and Career Services that you will have access to. 
• Working with employers to bring jobs to the co-op job board. 
• Ongoing support of all students before, during and after their co-op work term.
• Individualized, one on one support as necessary in items like improving your resumes, helping you submit applications, coaching you for interviews, etc. 
• Bringing employers to campus for info sessions, events and career fairs.

More information on what your fees cover can be found here.

Most of our co-op positions are paid, on average student salaries can be found here. Your salary is determined in the sector of work you are hired in as well as the experience you already come in with.

Normally, the amount of funding that co-op employers have for student salaries is fixed. Position wages that have a range listed are often tied to the co-op student’s experience.

In some cases, your co-op coordinator may be able to assist and advocate on your behalf. If you are concerned about wages for a particular position, discuss this with your co-op coordinator.

SOSC 200/500 is a 7-week, not-for-credit course that usually starts in late September/early October. Currently SOSC 200/500 is offered once a year in the fall semester.

The course is graded based on completion. In order to receive a COM (complete) grade, you will need to attend the classes and successfully submit and pass all assignments.

Registration opens approximately mid-June, along with all other CRN courses. If you are applying for co-op, please go ahead and register for the tutorial section that best fits your schedule. There is no lecture. In cases where we cannot approve your application you will have the ability to withdraw from the course without any penalties.

Yes. Even if you intend to do a work term during the upcoming spring or summer term, you should sign up since at the moment the course is not offered in the Spring or Summer academic terms.

The goal of the course is to give you baseline tools and skills to help you in your co-op / work experience (and later, full-time) job hunt.

You will learn about the hiring process, passive and active job search options, strategic resume and cover letter writing, professionalism and ethics, interview skills and techniques, personal professional advocacy and transferable skills, networking approaches and how to be successful on your co-op work-term.

No. At the moment, SOSC 200/500 is only offered to students in the Social Science co-op programs. Please only register if you are applying to participate in the Social Science co-op program. If you register for SOSC 200/500 and are not a co-op student, and have not applied to the co-op program via the co-op portal during the application period, your registration will be canceled.

No, once you successfully pass SOSC 200/500, you will be free to search for jobs within the co-op portal at any point in your degree when you decide to do that. Just make sure to let your co-op office know you want to be released to view jobs for the term you plan to complete a  work term. You only need to successfully complete SOSC 200/500 once.

You need to contact the co-op coordinator for the co-op or work experience program you are applying to, to determine whether you can be waived from having to do this course again. Please note that you will be requested to provide the course syllabus and proof of course completion.

The International Student Services (ISS) have advisors who are certified to respond to your questions and assist with all International / Immigration related items. You can refer all questions to them at issinfo@uvic.ca . ISS also holds virtual drop-in hours that you can use to get help. More information on how to contact an International Student Advisor can be found here.

All graduate students are eligible to participate if they obtain permission from their thesis/project supervisor. Students also need their supervisor’s permission for every semester in which they would like to go on a co-op work term.

SOSC 200 is an undergraduate course. Graduate students need to register for SOSC 500. As a graduate student admitted into the co-op program you are also expected to participate in the learning process, submit assignments and attend sessions along with all students participating in the co-op programs

Once you have successfully completed and passed the required co-op course (Introduction to Professional Practice) you can email sscoop@uvic.ca to ask to be released to view jobs for the academic term you plan on securing a work term in.

Most employers recruit 3 months in advance. We recommend that you ask to be released to view jobs as soon as you decide when you want to complete a work term.

Work terms align with academic terms, which means they are typically 4 months long. While most students work full-time during the 4 months, the minimum requirement is 420 hours and 12 weeks of work.

Typically no, but it is possible to take an asynchronous course if it does not conflict with your required work hours for the work term you have been hired to do. It’s professional practice to receive permission from your employer if you will be taking a course, especially if you need to adjust work hours to accommodate the course schedule.

This is called being in a parallel co-op / work experience term. A parallel work term typically lasts 8 months and you are allowed to take 3 courses simultaneously. This allows you to still meet the minimum work term requirements of accumulating of 420 hours of work over an 8-month period. Please note these opportunities are less common but still doable.

Congrats! Contact your co-op coordinator, as we want to ensure this works with your academic term planning and meeting co-op work term requirements.

It is possible, but you still need to contact your co-op coordinator in order to hear your case to receive permission to do so.

As soon as you have successfully completed and passed the IPP co-op prep course (SOSC200/500) , and have a valid work permit (for international students only) you are eligible to be released to view jobs and start job searching for a work term.

This is called finding your own work term opportunity and we encourage it! If it meets the minimum 420 hours of work, you have a supervisor who is willing to train you, complete a mid-term check in, is able to build your professional skills and you are getting paid then yes, absolutely!

No you do not need to complete 3 work terms, if you complete less than 3 work terms you would be completing the work experience program.

Yes. In some cases, work you have done in the past may be recognized for co-op credit. The formal name of the process to do so is work-term challenge. Work term challenges are not eligible for work experience programs. Learn more here.

This is the formal name of the process allowing students to receive co-op credit for relevant work done before they enter the co-op program. If you’d like to receive credit for past work, please talk to your co-op coordinator.

Yes. If you have co-op credit from either another co-op program at UVic, or another accredited co-op institution, we will usually recognize it for credit (towards your co-op designation or work experience). Please discuss this with your co-op coordinator.

Students who are on a work term in the same term they will be graduating in, need to notify their co-op coordinator as soon as possible. Your final co-op deliverables are typically submitted one month earlier than the rest of your peers to not block you from you from your application to graduate. Once you have submitted your final work term deliverables and notified your co-op coordinator we will review and submit a rush COM (complete) grade if the deliverables meet the assignment guidelines.