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Co-op at CAMD

Co-op employer handbook

The CAMD co-op program connects students with employers and serves as a major source of talent for companies throughout Boston, New England, and beyond. Hire a CAMD co-op student and get a creative, highly motivated, full-time worker for six months—all while testing out a potential future employee. To partner with CAMD and become a co-op employer, please contact a co-op coordinator in your field.

Co-op program benefits

Talent pipeline

Cultivate a talented pool of potential future hires with express knowledge and understanding of your operations, and hand pick the best and brightest for full-time positions after graduation.

Outstanding support

A full-time faculty co-op coordinator is assigned to each employer and student cohort, ensuring that the application and selection process—as well as the work experience itself—is successful. Our students bring a fresh perspective, enthusiasm, and knowledge base to any workplace.

Student readiness

In co-op preparatory classes, students assess their interests while exploring career paths and learning the basics of co-op and workplace decorum. On day one of co-op, students are ready and equipped with the skills to hit the ground running. Both on co-op and in the classroom, our students learn to behave like professionals.

Extended employment

Our six-month model allows students to contribute meaningfully to their employers, taking on substantive tasks and longer-term projects that aren’t possible in a traditional 8-12 week summer internship. Hire two candidates to get the equivalent of a year-round employee.

Employer discretion

Our program structure and expert faculty will support you and our students however we can, but it’s your business—which means you’re in control. Establish role-specific candidate criteria and update job descriptions on an ongoing basis, and consult with our faculty co-op coordinators for assistance throughout the process.

CAMD co-op students are in high demand with many job options. In today’s highly competitive job market, you want to attract the students who best fit the job and your organization—and it all starts with the job description.

Here are a few tips:

Define your business needs and identify how the co-op student will contribute to your organization.
Think about projects, timelines, planning, processes, required skill sets, communications, and management. Develop a set of key responsibilities and rank them in order of priority.
Be as comprehensive as possible when describing the job, and ensure that its responsibilities are both important and achievable.

Posting a job description

It’s easy to post a new co-op position or re-post a prior one through NUworks. Just follow the instructions to post your co-op position(s). When completing the online form, remember to select “College: Arts, Media and Design” from the NU Primary Contact College dropdown menu.

If you have any questions about posting your position, please contact the co-op coordinator for your industry listed below.

Student interviews

Once a job is submitted, students can review and apply for the position through our database.
Contact a student directly if you are interested in arranging an interview. Some companies screen candidates via phone or Skype as a first round, while others prefer in-person interviews.
Please note that CAMD students are in high demand, so don’t delay. Top students often secure co-op positions very early in the process.

Making an offer

As with the interview process, extending an offer is at your discretion. You decide who to hire, start and end dates, and hourly salary.

Timeframe for student decision

To ensure our students make informed decisions about their co-op jobs, we ask that you allow them 1-3 business days to accept or decline an offer.

Companies set their own salaries and there is a fair amount of variability. Factors affecting salary levels include:

Student’s level of skill and experience
Type of position
Industry and type of company
Distance from campus

Salaries are based on actual earnings from the last co-op cycle. Market fluctuations, industry, and the student’s experience and ability dictate the actual salary offer.

Please view the Cooperative Education and Career Development Employer Handbook, which describes the role employers play in the co-op process. Students are your employees, exclusively, during the co-op period. They are full-time, temporary workers, and we request that they be treated in the same manner as other full-time staff.

When hiring a co-op student, consider the following responsibilities:

Per federal law, a hired student is an employee, not a contractor.
Throughout the co-op, ensure ample work related to the job accepted.
Help student develop learning outcomes at the beginning of the co-op.
Provide mentorship and training to student throughout the co-op.
Notify your co-op coordinator of any concerns as they arise.
Complete a student evaluation at the end of the co-op.

The program offers a continual gateway to enthusiastic employees with developing skills and talents, as well as potential relationships with future colleagues. This partnership offers employers:

A simple, cost-effective way to meet human resource needs: no fringe benefits, no recruitment costs: co-op students are paid as temporary hourly employees.
Six-month co-op periods, with ample time for students to be productive and valuable employees (scheduling back-to-back co-op periods results in full-time coverage for on-going work).
The enthusiasm, fresh perspective, and energy of talented young people eager to learn.

Questions? Please contact your Co-op Coordinator.

Christina Flynn
Director of Co-op Education & Employer Engagement
[email protected]
Lynn Burke
Senior Co-op Coordinator, Architecture
[email protected]
Isabel Dmitruk
Assistant Co-op Coordinator, A+D (last names A-L)
[email protected]
Rachel Villari
Assistant Co-op Coordinator, A+D (last names M–Z)
[email protected]
Mark Bresnihan
Assistant Co-op Coordinator, Comm Studies (A-G)
[email protected]
Emily Hornsby
Associate Co-op Coordinator, Comm Studies (H-Z)
[email protected]
Becky Buchmelter
Associate Co-op Coordinator, Game Art + Animation, Game Design
[email protected]
Christina Roberts
Senior Co-op Coordinator, Journalism
[email protected]
Nancy Tarr
Senior Co-op Coordinator, Music & Theatre
[email protected]