Business Co-op | Saunders College of Business

Set Yourself Apart

What’s different about studying business at RIT? It’s the opportunity to co-op and intern with top companies in every single business sector. You’ll earn more than a degree. You’ll gain real-world experience from full-time, paid cooperative education and internships.

Stand out from your competitors with career experience before you graduate.

U.S. News and World Report badge for best co-op or internship program for 2025.

#6

Top School for Co-op or Internship Programs

Ranked among nation’s best in hands-on career preparation

100^%

Participation

All business majors participate in co-op

95^%

Outcomes Rate

Business students employed, in grad school, or pursuing military service/volunteering within six months of graduation

^$17.18

Median Average Hourly Salary

Across All Business Co-ops

6 Reasons Why Co-ops and Internships Launch Business Careers

High Employment
There’s a reason 95% of RIT’s business students are employed or in grad school within six months of graduation. It’s all due to co-op. With co-op required in all of our business majors, you’ll gain valuable hands-on experience that builds a resume that employers will notice.

Career Experience–Early and Often
Business students have the flexibility to begin co-ops and internships in nearly any semester. You’ll begin to apply your business knowledge early in your course work, which broadens your insights and allows you to see connections between class work and real-world applications.

Explore a Range of Business Careers
Explore different career paths, try different industries, and test out work environments. With co-op, you’ll not only gain hands-on experience, but you’ll learn more about the types of work you love and environments where you’ll thrive.

Earn a Full-Time Salary
Earn a full-time salary as you gain experience on co-op. This can be used to support your tuition and help offset college expenses, or it can set you up for financial independence after graduation.

Connections That Lead to Success
You’ll interact with business experts, explore work environments, broaden your hands-on knowledge, connect with professionals and alumni, and apply your skills in real world settings. You’ll amass solid, career-focused experience that positions you for outstanding employment opportunities.

Develop Your Soft-Skills
RIT will teach you the technical, theoretical, and analytical skills that make you a competitive job applicant. But the soft skills–leadership, decisiveness, conflict-resolution, etiquette awareness, professionalism–are the competencies that truly set you apart, and the skills that can only be learned on the job.

RIT’s Outstanding Hiring Partners

We couldn’t possibly list all 3,400 of our hiring partners. It’s a list that keeps on growing. But here’s a sample of some of the places around the world where you might find yourself employed for co-ops or internships.

Bank of America

Canter Fitzgerald

Colgate-Palmolive

Intuit

JP Morgan Chase & Co.

Mozilla

Nike, Inc.

KPMG, LLP

Oracle

PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP

United Airlines

Walt Disney Company

View more RIT’s outstanding Co-op employers

Business Co-op/Internship Schedule

All business majors complete at least one co-op or internship. Co-ops and internships can begin as early as the summer after your second year of study. You’ll also be encouraged to complete more than one co-op or internship experience. Students may complete a co-op in any semester, however a majority do so in the summer following their second and/or third year. This sample schedule shows you how co-ops and internships are built into your education.

*Accounting students typically complete a co-op in spring term of their junior year.

Sample Schedule

One or Two Blocks

	Fall	Spring	Summer
Year 1	Classes	Classes
Year 2	Classes	Classes	Co-op/Internship
Year 3	Classes	Classes	Co-op/Internship
Year 4	Classes	Classes