Co-ops for Physics Majors
Through Drexel's renowned cooperative education program, students embark on up to three, six-month periods of full-time employment, exploring their career options, strengthening their resumes and building a professional network in the process. Co-op is the “Ultimate Internship” and was introduced at Drexel in 1919 as one of the first models of its kind; the program has become integral to the University's educational experience.
The co-op program plays a vital part in the student learning experience. Most of our majors participate in research co-ops, both here and elsewhere, graduating with invaluable first-hand insight into their careers.
Learn more about Drexel Co-op
What Physics Students are saying about Co-op
“My co-op experience has been fantastic! Through co-op, I've discovered a lot about my own ambitions while learning about what it's really like to do research. While it's often frustrating in the moment to deal with roadblocks in research, I realize looking back that I've accomplished so much in a short period of time.
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- Emily Harkness, BS Physics '20
Read more about Emily
“My co-ops have been excellent experiences! I have learned much regarding nuclear and particle physics and even more about the general research experience. I loved being able to apply problem-solving in a practical setting and being a part of a team so interested in this field. These experiences confirmed for me that I want to spend the rest of my life involved with physics, and that I plan on moving forward to graduate school.
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- James Minock, BS Physics '20
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“I’ve had a lot of extremely positive experiences with my co-ops, all of which were research based. I think what I like most with Drexel’s co-op system is the opportunity to try many different things. I did research with a different team for each of my co-ops and I think that gave me a very good overview of how particle physics research works on a broader scale. The research culture in physics is very welcoming and even though it might seem intimidating at first, people are always happy to help you out. I can definitely say that these experiences strengthened my aspiration to go to graduate school and pursue a PhD in the field!”
- Johannes Wagner, BS Physics '20
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“My first co-op with Professor Karapetrov was very helpful in broadening my scope of physics research. The intersections between condensed matter physics, chemistry, and chemical and material science engineering gave me a broader perspective and helped me fine-tune my work interests.
My second co-op was at AmeriQuest Business Services in Cherry Hill, NJ as a programmer intern in IT, and it helped me identify industrial applications of a physics education. I am planning on going to grad school, but the co-op program helped me explore alternatives to research, in case I ever need to move to industry.!”
- Eesha Das Gupta, BS Physics '19
Read more about Eesha
“My biggest project while on co-op at Lockheed Martin took me two months to do; I had to find the problem and implement a fix in the code,” she says. "It was very much like untangling a pair of headphones you find in your pocket — you keep finding more and more problems — but it was very cool. The first day I got the fix working, I ran up and down the hall telling my cubemates. It left me feeling like I had learned something and made an impact at my co-op.”
- Riley Stanford, BS Physics '19
Read more about Riley
“The co-op program has treated me phenomenally, and I feel that I have gotten the most out of the program. I have done research in computational astronomy and astroparticle physics at Drexel, experimental cosmology at the University of Pennsylvania, and radar technologies and electronic warfare at Lockheed Martin. I learned not only about how physics research is structured, but also about the nature of research across other disciplines. Through my experiences, I have networked with graduate students, researchers, scientists and faculty from all over the world, many of whom have helped me tremendously as both a student and a person.
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- Mark Giovinazzi, BS Physics (Astrophysics Concentration) '18
Read more about Mark
Recent Co-op Employers
- Academy of Natural Sciences
- Aeroflex Control Components, Inc.
- Agilent Technologies
- AmeriQuest Business Services
- Analytical Graphics, Inc.
- Applied Informatics Group (AIG)
- Argonne National Laboratory
- Army Research Laboratory
- Bayada Home Health Care, Inc.
- Benjamin's Desk
- Bristol Myers Squibb Company
- Certainteed Corporation
- Charter High School for Architecture & Design
- Columbia University Medical Center
- Constitution High School
- CoreLab Partners
- Drexel University
- Drugscan
- DSG, Inc.
- Exelon Corporation
- Gemalto
- Global Citizen
- Haddon Township High School
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
- Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
- IBM
- Independence Blue Cross
- Innovative Defense Technologies
- Intel Corporation
- Kieran Timberlake
- Lantium, Inc.
- Lockheed Martin
- Lupus Foundation of America- Philadelphia Tri State Chapter
- Micro-Coax
- Military Commitment - ROTC
- Monitoring Analytics
- National Board of Medical Examiners
- National Institute of Standards and Technology
- National Radio Astronomy Obs.
- NAVAIR
- Pearson VUE
- PEI Genesis
- Penn State University
- PFIT, Inc.
- Philadelphia Water Department
- PJM Interconnection, LLC
- Princeton Plasma Physics
- Princeton University
- Protiro, Inc.
- Sandia National Laboratories
- SAP America
- Sparks Exhibit and Environments
- Susquehanna International Group, LLP
- Temple University
- U.S. Federal Aviation Administration
- Universal Technical Resource Services Inc
- Universidad de Murcia
- University of Delaware
- University of Pennsylvania
- weServe Program
- Woodward McCoach Inc.