Bachelor of Commerce – Cooperative Education Program
University of Alberta School of Business
Deadlines: Early Conditional Admission: Current UofA BCom students ONLY – March 31st, 2015
General Admission Deadline: All Applicants – July 31st, 2015
Apply online at: CareerConnect
Who is eligible to apply?
All Applicants:
 Applicants must first be granted admission into the UofA BCom program before they may apply to the Co-op
program.
 Applicants may only be considered for the Co-op program if they have no more than *75ucw completed towards
their Bachelor of Commerce Degree by August 31st, 2015.
After-Degree Applicants:
 Applicants must first be granted admission into the UofA BCom program before they may apply to the Co-op
program.
 After-Degree Co-op applicants are only eligible to apply for the Co-op program if they have at least 15 courses
(*45ucw) remaining in their program by August 31st, 2015.
Please Note:
The BCom Co-op program is a quota program and admission is competitive. Admission is not guaranteed to all
applicants. Applicants are ranked according to:
 Their GPA
 Quantity of extracurricular/volunteer experience.
 Quantity and quality of work experience. Co-op jobs are not entry level jobs. Co-op employers expect students
to have a significant volume of previous work experience and quality references from these previous work
experiences.
Applicants are admitted in order until the Co-op program quota is full. Applicants in Accounting and Finance will be
placed into a separate pool from other applicants.
Applicants in Accounting and Finance should note that Co-op admission is significantly more competitive than other
majors; therefore the admission standards for these majors may be more rigorous. This is to reflect the reality of the job
market where the likelihood of securing a position in these areas is strongly determined by the factors reflected in the
admission criteria below. Therefore, if an applicant in Accounting or Finance does not meet the following minimum
criteria it is strongly suggested that they consider alternate majors.
Admission Criteria: Students will be ranked in order according to the following criteria; admission is not guaranteed to
all applicants. Admission will depend on the number and quality of applicants in any given year.
1. GPA:
Students Majoring in Accounting or Finance:
 Must present a GPA of 3.0 or higher in their most recent academic year of study that comprised a
minimum of *24ucw (i.e., 4 courses completed per term during the regular academic year).
 Must present a minimum grade of B in Accounting 311.
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If an applicant in Accounting or Finance has not yet completed Accounting 311 they may be considered
for probationary admission to Co-op until such time as they have met this condition of admission.
Probationary admission applies to any student with an Accounting or Finance major admitted to the Coop program without having completed Accounting 311. Students on probation will participate in the Coop training during the Fall term but will not be eligible to view, or apply to, jobs until such time as they
have successfully met the admission criteria for Accounting or Finance (i.e., a grade of B or higher in
Accounting 311 and a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a minimum of *12ucw, 4 courses, completed in the Fall
term).
Other Majors:
 Typically Co-op applicants who are not Accounting or Finance will present a GPA of 2.8 or higher in their
most recent academic year of student that comprised a minimum of *24ucw (i.e., 4 courses per term
during the regular academic year), however, depending on the applicant pool in any given year we may
consider any applicant who presents a GPA of 2.5 or higher.
2. Work Experience:
All Applicants:
 Are expected to present a minimum of 650 hours of (paid) work experience* (see below for examples)
within the past 3 years.
 This may include work up to August 31st, 2015.
 This work need not be business related and may include fields such as retail, hospitality, labour etc…
3. Volunteer or Extra-Curricular Experience:
All Applicants:
 We strongly encourage all Co-op applicants to participate in Volunteer or Extra-Curricular activities in
order to improve their competitiveness for admission into Co-op, and, if successfully admitted into Coop their competitiveness in securing a position.
 Preference will be given to experience obtained in the past 3 years.
Admission Documents: Prior to commencing their online application, students should compile the following documents.
1. A letter of intent:
See Guidelines for Co-op Letter of Intent. This structured business letter (maximum of 1 page) should outline:
 Your career objectives
 Your understanding of the Co-op program structure and expectations
 Your individual characteristics that make you a good candidate for the Business Cooperative Education
program.
2. Resume:
 Applicants should use the resume and reference template.
 Maximum of 2 pages
 Along with the main responsibilities held within each position the work experience portion of your
resume must include:
i. The Start and End date of each position, this includes the month and year work commenced and
ended, or, if the work is ongoing indicate the start date (month/year) and that the position is
current
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ii. Whether the position was mainly Full Time or Part Time
iii. For each position you must include the average number of hours worked per week and total
number of hours worked at each job.
Applicants who exclude work experience are at a disadvantage when their application is being
considered for admission
Your resume should also include all recent Volunteer and Extracurricular experience
3. Work References:
 Students should include 2 work related references, including their full name, job title, company
name and contact information
 References may be contacted
4. Transcripts:
 Students are required to provide electronic copies of all post-secondary work completed.
 Unofficial copies are acceptable, you can download your transcripts as a pdf through your institutions
student portal (i.e., Bear Tracks, MyMacEwan etc…)
 Transcript files must be 1MB or less
Additional Information
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Applicants to the Business Co-op program are ranked in order based on the aforementioned admission criteria
until the quota is full.
Current University of Alberta BCom students may apply for early conditional admission. Application deadline
for Early Conditional Admission is March 31st, 2015.
Current University of Alberta BCom students who are not offered Early Conditional Admission will have their
applications automatically considered for the general admission.
Please note; students may only apply to the Co-op program after they have received admission to the UofA
BCom program. The general admission deadline for the Co-op program is July 31st, 2015.
Students who are admitted to the UofA BCom program after July 31st, 2015 and still wish to be considered for
admission to the Co-op program should contact the Co-op office for additional information.
Examples of 650 hours of work experience
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At least 2 work shifts of 6+ hours weekly, completed consistently over the past 18-24 months; or
At least 1 Full time summer job (16 weeks, 30+ hours per week), plus 1-2 regular weekly part time shifts over the
past 12-24 months; or
2 Full time summer jobs (16 weeks, 30+ hours per week) in the previous 2 years.
These examples are designed to provide guidance on the amount of work that would equal 650 hours.
Individual student experiences will vary and equivalencies will be accepted.
If you have questions please contact our office at:
Business Career Services and Cooperative Education Program
2-21 Business Building, University of Alberta
Phone: 780-492-2320 E-mail: bizcareers@ualberta.ca
Co-op Letter of Intent
The letter of intent is meant to demonstrate your suitability for the Cooperative Education Program. It is a very
important factor in your admission decision and taken into strong consideration during the evaluation process. The
strength of your application is based on a number of factors including basic writing skills, spelling, grammar, format, and
completeness.
Here are the main ideas which you need to consider in your letter of intent:
 Maximum 1 page single spaced
 Professional business letter format (look online for sample business letter formats if you are unfamiliar)
 Basic writing skills, spelling and grammar are a reflection of your attention to detail
 Poor written communication skills could result in your application not being considered
 List your professional career goals and explain how you plan to achieve them and how Co-op fits with your goals
 Your letter must provide evidence that you have a clear understanding of the Co-op program policies and
processes (include important details about the program)
 We expect that you have read through the website including the Information for Prospective Students
 Note that your letter of intent may be addressed to Mr. Dale McNeely, the Director of Business Career Services
& Cooperative Education Program
IMPORTANT: The letter of intent MUST be an original work, written by the applicant without assistance
Your Name
•Complete Address • Phone Number • email address •
EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE – add as many entries as you require to include all work experience
Start Date to End Date*
Approx # of hours worked per week:
Approx total # of hours worked:
Job Title – Primarily Full Time or Primarily Part Time?
Company Worked For, Work City
- Job responsibility 1
- Job responsibility 2
- Job responsibility 3
Start Date to End Date
Approx # of hours worked per week:
Approx total # of hours worked:
Job Title – Primarily Full Time or Primarily Part Time?
Company Worked For, Work City
- Job responsibility 1
- Job responsibility 2
- Job responsibility 3
*If you are still employed in this position the end date should be “present”
VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE – add as many entries as you require
Start Date – End Date
Position Title
Organization you volunteered with, City
- Description of what you did
Start Date – End Date
Position Title
Organization you volunteered with, City
- Description of what you did
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
- VP External, CESA, University of Alberta, 2014-Present
- Adult Musical Theatre, Citadel Foote Theatre, 2013-2014
- Actors for Actors Workshop, 2013
- Grad Council Executive Member, Ross Sheppard High School, 2012
REFERENCES – These must be current or former work supervisors who can verify your work history
1. Name of Reference
Job Title:
Company:
Phone Number:
Email Address (optional):
2. Name of Reference
Job Title
Company:
Phone Number:
Email Address (optional):