Co-op work experience
Cycling Without Age hires co-op students to take senior citizens on bike rides throughout Victoria.
After a day running a recreational program for youth, co-op students head out on adventures of their own.
Interested in travelling during your co-op? One student spent time coaching youth hockey in China!
Kinesiology students can work alongside occupational therapists to provide personalized mobility and strength exercises to residents of facilities like Beckley Farm Lodge in Victoria.
Emily Mah and the other co-op students had a blast working as Outdoor Instructors at Atlantic College in Wales. They provided new outdoor experiences to students from over 80 countries.
Co-operative education (co-op) involves alternating your academic studies with paid work experiences in which you gain practical on the job opportunities. These will help you prepare to plan, implement, evaluate and supervise health promotion, recreation, sport, rehabilitation and fitness policies and programs.
All students who engage in co-op must take EPHE 100—a course that helps prepare students for self-directed learning, applying to co-op opportunities and building personal confidence and competencies.
Co-operative education adds both value and time to your program, extending the duration it will take to complete your degree.
How many work terms will you complete?
The recreation and health education BA program has a mandatory co-op requirement. Students must complete three work terms.
Co-op is an optional addition to the kinesiology BSc program. Students must complete at least three work terms to graduate with a co-op designation. The best time to apply to co-op is at the time of application to the program. It is possible to join co-op at any point during the program.
Who will you work for?
That depends on you! You can apply to posted co-op jobs or arrange your own work term by approaching an employer and discussing your options with the co-op coordinator. Want to travel the world while you work? Apply for a job with one of our international employers, or find a job with an organization elsewhere in Canada. You could work in areas such as:
- physical literacy programs
- municipal recreation – children, youth, seniors or events
- rehabilitation centres and folks living with varying abilities
- outdoor education centres / ecotourism
- therapeutic / health promotion programs
- sport organizations
- fitness and wellness programs / personal training
- educational institutions
- residences for seniors
- residential and day camps for children and youth
- not for profit organizations
- many other leisure, rehabilitation, health, wellness and fitness organizations
Learn more about co-op
You can find more specific information about co-op on the Co-operative Education and Career Services website.
Discover co-op
Develop your career
- Attend career development workshops
- Explore résumé, cover letter and interview resources
- Meet with a career educator
Spend a work term overseas
Many students complete co-operative education work terms in a wide range of countries, from Indonesia to Africa, northern Canada to Costa Rica. If you would like to participate in an overseas EPHE co-op work term, contact the EPHE co-operative education coordinator.
Spend a work term in France
Our school currently has a co-op exchange agreement for kinesiology program students with the University of Valenciennes and Hainault-Cambresis (UVHC) in France. If you go to UVHC you must be in good academic standing (normally a B average or equivalent at UVic) and have completed at least one year of your program of study. It is recommended that interested students take EPHE 357 – Introduction to Research prior to engaging in this opportunity.