The Future of Work is Building Connections
The Steinbright Career Development Center is one of the largest university co-op and career services teams in the world, providing a wealth of experience and knowledgeable assistance for Drexel University students, alumni, and employers.
With a comprehensive staff of skilled and dedicated professionals, Steinbright is an invaluable starting point for connections between Drexel students, alumni, faculty, employers, and the world. This University would not be the innovative destination for experiential education that it is known as today without Steinbright moving the University forward and connecting a constantly growing network of employers to talented Drexel students.
A Talent Pipeline for Employers
Drexel's renowned cooperative education program, also known as co-op, provides extensive preparation and professional employment experiences for students. And the value of co-op is obvious as it acts as a powerful recruiting pipeline for partnering organizations while producing excellent outcomes for our Dragons. Co-op allows students to learn firsthand from industry leaders and bring this knowledge and enhanced perspective back to the classroom, enabling them to serve as valuable resources for their fellow students and their professors. In line with our academic model, this cycle equips students with a unique combination of knowledge and experience that will empower them to become the leaders of tomorrow as they work with the leaders of today.
The Value of Co-op
Since 1919, Drexel has made professional work experience and skill development central to our academic model and curricula in the form of our cooperative education program, Drexel Co-op. To this day, students gain up to 18 months of résumé-enhancing experience by exploring up to three different co-ops and test-driving career options, all by the time they graduate. This combination of co-op and classroom experience drives curricula forward as faculty members adjust their instruction based on their students' industry knowledge in order to transform theory into practice by combining world-class academics with real-world experience.
This form of experiential education enables employers to actively engage with our academic model and have a role in shaping Drexel's dynamic curriculum. Together, we will equip the next generation of industry leaders to face the business challenges of the future.
One of Drexel's incredible faculty members, Karen Nulton, PhD, shows her passion for cooperative education through conducting intensive research and incorporating work-integrated learning into her courses.
Frequently Asked Questions
We study it like it’s a science.
Drexel is home to the Center for the Advancement of STEM Teaching and Learning Excellence (CASTLE), run by an interdisciplinary team working to identify best practices in experiential education. The CASTLE group builds tools to assess co-op as well as other real-world learning programs, such as study abroad and service-learning, to understand how experiential opportunities impact students.
By asking questions and examining extensive co-op data, Drexel is able to create new areas of academic excellence that position our graduates for cutting-edge careers and solidify our leadership in the cooperative education field.
We partner with industry.
Through Drexel’s Business Solutions Institute, companies collaborate with Drexel on research, custom training, and evidence-based solutions.
We connect companies such as Vanguard, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Campbell’s Soup Co., and Independence Blue Cross to faculty and students through interdisciplinary projects, classes, executive education opportunities, and custom industry lab research. Past projects have related to business analytics, the "Internet of Things," and UX/UI experience testing.
Drexel students also solve culinary challenges for food industry clients such as The Hershey Co., Bumblebee, and Aramark through the Food Lab, a student-run interdisciplinary food research group. Since its founding in 2014, the Food Lab has earned a reputation for developing innovative recipes and sustainable food products that have led to patent applications and licensing agreements.
Drexel also partners with organizations in the arts and cultural and nonprofit space through the Lenfest Center for Cultural Partnerships. Since 2017, the center has used its $3 million endowment to fund 25 (previously unpaid) co-ops at organizations like the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Delaware Museum of Natural History, and Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance.
The endowed co-ops give organizations additional resources to publicize their cultural assets while contributing to the training of future museum curators and nonprofit managers.
As Drexel further develops its tech-commercialization resources, opportunities for partnerships will accelerate. For example, the University runs ic@3401, one of the city’s most diverse early-stage startup incubators, where faculty and students collaborate with independent entrepreneurs. And in its final phases, the massive building complex Schuylkill Yards will house academic classrooms and innovative corporations side by side in a collaborative environment.
We ask.
We ask students returning from co-op what they learned. We ask employers that hire our students what those students need to know. And an interdisciplinary faculty committee meets regularly with co-op advisors to review feedback from employers and students. The result is better programs across the University.
Here are some ways co-op has transformed how we teach:
- The Design & Merchandising program in the Westphal College of Media Arts & Design eliminated outdated visual design and art history courses. Excel skills and practical retail math for calculating mark-ups and stock-to-sales ratios were built into courses. Environmental science replaced physics as the required science credit in recognition of the fashion industry’s impact on the environment.
- The College of Computing & Informatics developed new required courses that bridge theory and practice. One uses project-based teaching to show students how theoretical computing concepts relate to typical industrial applications they may encounter on co-op (for example, the development of a custom database for a specific business).
- The Department of Communication in the College of Arts and Sciences accelerated when students take required courses after second-year students returning from their first co-ops reported they needed more foundational courses earlier in their studies.
- The Goodwin School of Professional Studies shortened in-class instruction time and began offering more project-based learning opportunities. Rather than offer à la carte courses, the school created an official pathway so adult learners can follow a logical course progression toward certification.
Building Connections
Celebrating Our Employer Partners
What do you get when you spend a century building partnerships with companies of all sizes, in all fields, across the United States and abroad? You get endless connection points with employers invested in cultivating the next generation of leaders and committed to a curriculum grounded in experiential learning. We are proud of our expansive network of over 1,500 employer partners, which includes Fortune 500 companies, enterprising startups, and respected arts and cultural nonprofits.
The strength of Steinbright's offerings comes from these employer partners providing valuable opportunities for our students. In coordination with the Employer Relations team, Steinbright invites employer partners to connect with current Drexel students and recent alumni in a number of unique ways. These include attending career fairs, hosting on-campus information sessions, holding online web chats, presenting at guest panel discussions, and sponsoring campus events. Why do employers choose to partner with us year after year? Here's what they have to say.
With the help of our employer partners, the Steinbright Career Development Center is able to produce exceptional results and experiences for Drexel students. We greatly value the relationships developed with our partners, which span all facets of the professional world, as they serve an integral role within our innovative model of experiential learning.
Drexel Co-op by the Numbers
Ready to Get Involved?
Once new employers join our vast network, a wealth of opportunities opens up to them — beginning with our world-class cooperative education program, Drexel Co-op, and extending to our many career services offerings that help companies raise awareness for their brand. Whether through attending career fairs or hosting information sessions, employers are invited to build connections with our students in order to find the perfect fit to support the growth of their organizations.
For some companies, joining the Drexel Solutions Institute (DSI) might be the best place to start. The DSI partners with organizations of all sizes to assist them with talent acquisition and development, crafting industry-aligned curricula, and much more depending on their needs. Through project-based learning opportunities, the DSI is bringing together faculty with multidisciplinary student teams and industry partners in order to develop new business solutions and, ultimately, retrain the workforce. In this way, the DSI acts as a gateway between industry and the University community. We believe that this is the perfect model for the future as we continue to support the broadening needs of all employer partners.
If you are an employer interested in learning more or are unsure about how Drexel Co-op can fit into your organization, reach out to Steinbright today!Co-op sets Drexel apart from other universities, allowing students to learn alongside experts in their fields and see firsthand how these innovators are shaping the professional world. Each of these transformative experiences uniquely prepares our Dragons to expand the limits of what they can achieve as students, employees, and as individuals.