Six Months
to Success

Inside W. P. Carey’s career-boosting co-op program

A new cooperative education program at W. P. Carey is helping students land high-paying jobs — and giving employers a better way to spot top talent — by offering real-world experience beyond a typical internship.

Launched officially in July 2025 following a successful January pilot, the program allows undergraduate business students to step away from classes for six months and work full time for major employers such as financial reporting firm Equity Methods and medical device company Align Technology.

Known as a co-op — short for cooperative education — the program offers extended, paid work experience beyond a typical internship.

Interest in the program is running high among both students and employers. Nearly 400 students applied for the 30 spots offered in July, and the program attracted 20 companies, quadrupling initial expectations.

The program comes when competition for summer internships has intensified. A recent study by career platform Handshake found summer internships have declined more than 15% in the past two years, while applications have doubled. Competition is especially fierce in well-paying fields like technology and finance, where many W. P. Carey students hope to land a job someday.

The co-op, while it also connects students to the employment world, is significantly different from an internship. It provides students with a much more intensive work experience, giving them an advantage in the job market.

“If you do this six-month work experience, you increase your chances of landing a high-quality job at the end,” says Ohad Kadan, Charles J. Robel Dean and W. P. Carey Distinguished Chair in Business.

That advantage isn’t lost on students who’ve already participated.

“I’ve done internships before, and the co-op program definitely provides a massive edge,” says finance and supply chain management student Megh Patranabis, who worked at Honeywell Aerospace during the program’s pilot phase.

The program also benefits employers, giving them a better way to judge student work performance, says alum Chuck Michaels (BS Finance ’83), who broached the idea for the six-month work experience to Dean Kadan after participating in a similar program sponsored by Drexel University during his tenure at Goldman Sachs over several decades.

“A lot of co-op students worked directly for me, and I saw the power of the program. Summer internships run for eight to 12 weeks, and students often rotate from one area to another,” Michaels explains. “But when you have someone for six months, you can give them a project, train them, and get some payback.”

Observing students for half a year also helps employers answer questions about soft skills and fit, he adds. “Do they come in on time? How’s the quality of their work? Are they good in teams? If we bring them into meetings, how do they do?

“In essence, it’s a six-month interview.”

In addition to gaining valuable real-world experience, students in the program may also be considered for full-time employment, offering a clear pathway to career advancement beyond the internship.

“Many of our students are high achievers and accumulate more credits than they need, so they can still finish in four years,” Kadan says. “Some even take a course or two online while they’re working.”

If they choose, students can extend their program stint by another six months, broadening their real-world experience and enabling them to add skills to their résumés.

Employers pay attention to cues suggesting maturity and a fluid transition to the career world. National research shows that 60% to 70% of co-op students receive full-time job offers from their placements.

Michaels, who is serving as senior advisor for corporate partnerships for the program, is heartened by the initial employer response and envisions a much broader expansion in the future, both in size and scope.

“I think we’ll get to 50 or 75 employers by next January,” he says. “But W. P. Carey has 22,000 undergraduate students, and it’s growing fast. To make the program really impactful, we need about a thousand positions.”

Whether you’re an alum eager to give back or a company ready to connect with top student talent, you can play a key role in bridging the gap between college and career.

Contact wpcareypartners@asu.edu or visit wpcarey.asu.edu/co-op to learn how your organization can get involved in the W. P. Carey Undergraduate Co-op Program.