Toby Barnes gives a glimpse into his co-op work term for Interfor in Campbell River.
When will you work?
Co-op students complete 8 academic terms and 5 work terms over a five-year period.
Prior to commencing your first co-op work term, you will complete the first 2 years of your undergraduate degree. You will also complete a series of employability skills workshops that will help prepare you for the workplace. Workshop topics include effective job search strategies, resume and cover letter writing, interview skills, ethics, and confidentiality in the workplace.
The academic and work schedule is determined by your program of study. The schedules are listed below.
| FIVE YEAR FOREST OPERATIONS PROGRAM MAP (CO-OP OPTION) | ||||
| Term 1 Sep – Dec | Term 2 Jan – Apr | Summer May – Aug | ||
| Year 1 | Basic Sciences, Economics, English, Math, Soil Science and Intro to Biometrics and Computer Applications | Summer | ||
| Year 2 | Intro to Conservation, Forest Plant Biology, Ecology, Forest Measurement, Hydrology and Forest Operations I. | Co-op 1 (Junior) | Fall Interior Field School | |
| Year 3 | Silviculture I, Entomology, Pathology, Fire, Wildlife, and Solid or Wood Mechanics. | Co-op 2 (Intermediate) | Co-op 3 (Intermediate) | |
| Year 4 | Co-op 4 (Intermediate) | Silviculture II, Forest Economics, Measurement and Operations, and Soil Mechanics | Spring Coastal Field School | Co-op 5 (Senior) |
| Year 5 | Forest Policy, Cable Mechanics, Mathematical Programming, Forest Operations, Roads and Bridges, Wood Product Manufacturing, and a Graduating Paper | Sustainable Forest Management Integrated Course, Business, and Transportation Systems | ||
The first and the last co-op work terms are only 15 weeks in duration. All other work terms last a full four months. Co-op terms 2, 3 & 4 may be with three different companies, or combined so that a student can work at a single company for 8 or 12 months.
| FIVE YEAR FOREST RESOURCES MANAGEMENT PROGRAM MAP (CO-OP OPTION) | ||||
| Term 1 Sep – Dec | Term 2 Jan – Apr | Summer May – Aug | ||
| Year 1 | Basic Sciences, Intro to Biometrics and Computer Applications, Economics, English, Math and Soil Science | Summer | ||
| Year 2 | Intro to Conservation, Forest Plant Biology, Ecology, Forest Measurement, Forest Operations I, and Climatology. | Co-op 1 (Junior) | Fall Interior Field School | |
| Year 3 | Silviculture I, Entomology, Pathology, Fire Science, Wildlife, Watersheds and the Integrated Field Lab. | Co-op 2 (Intermediate) | Co-op 3 (Intermediate) | |
| Year 4 | Co-op 4 (Intermediate) | Silviculture II, Forest Economics, Forest Measurements, Fish & Aquatic Ecosystems, First Nations, and Forest Operations II. | Spring Coastal Field School | Co-op 5 (Senior) |
| Year 5 | Social Science, Applied Programming, Visualization, Recreation, and a Graduating Paper | Sustainable Forest Management Integrated Course, Business and Wood Products Manufacturing. | ||
The first and the last co-op work terms are only 15 weeks in duration. All other work terms last a full four months. Co-op terms 2, 3 & 4 may be with three different companies, or combined so that a student can work at a single company for 8 or 12 months.
| FIVE YEAR FOREST SCIENCES PROGRAM MAP (CO-OP OPTION) | ||||
| Term 1 Sep – Dec | Term 2 Jan – Apr | Summer May – Aug | ||
| Year 1 | Basic Sciences, English, Math, Intro to Forestry, and Soil | Summer | ||
| Year 2 | Cell Biology, Organic Chemistry, Biometrics, Forest Plant Biology and Forest Ecology | Co-op 1 (Junior) | Fall Interior Field School | |
| Year 3 | Entomology, Pathology, Fire, Hydrology, Wildlife, Advanced Biometrics, and Electives | Forest Genetics, Silviculture, Aquatic Ecosystems, and Electives | Co-op 2 (Intermediate) | |
| Year 4 | Plant Physiology, Soils, Research Methods, Seminar, Conservation Biology, and Graduating Thesis | Co-op 3 (Intermediate) | Co-op 4 (Senior) | |
| Year 5 | Co-op 5 (Senior) | Forest Soils, Biological Diversity, and Specialization | ||
The first co-op work term is only 15 weeks in duration. All other work terms last a full four months. Co-op terms 3, 4 & 5 may be with three different companies, or combined so that a student can work at a single company for 8 or 12 months.
| FIVE YEAR NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION PROGRAM MAP (CO-OP OPTION) | |||
| Term 1 Sep – Dec | Term 2 Jan – Apr | Summer May – Aug | |
| Year 1 | Basic Sciences, English, Math, Soil Science, and Sociology | Summer | |
| Year 2 | Forest biology and ecology, Intro to Conservation, Intro to Biometrics and Computer Applications. | Co-op 1 (Junior) | |
| Year 3 | Sociology of the environment, wildlife, recreation and planning, hydrology | Co-op 2 (Intermediate) | Co-op 3 (Senior) |
| Year 4 | Co-op 4 (Senior) | Resource economics, conservation of water, conservation science and sustainability | Co-op 5 (Senior) |
| Year 5 | Integrated Field Course | Conservation policy, remote sensing and fisheries management | |
Each co-op work term lasts 4 months. Co-op work terms 3, 4 & 5 may be with three different companies, or combined so that a student can work at a single company for 8 or 12 months.
| PLANNED CO-OP OPTION: FIVE YEAR PROGRAM MAP* | |||
| Term1 Sept – Dec | Term 2 Jan – Apr | Summer May – Aug | |
| Year 1 | Basic Sciences, English, Introduction to Urban Forestry and Conservation, Soil Science, Sociology, Economics | Summer | |
| Year 2 | Human Well-Being, Forest Ecology and Biology, Community Forests, Climate Change, Sustainability, Introduction to Planning and Design | Co-op 1 | |
| Year 3 | Biotic and Abiotic Disturbances, Geographic Information Systems, Conservation Planning and Wildland Recreation + minor courses | Co-op 2 | Co-op 3 |
| Year 4 | Co-op 4 | Arboriculture, Remote Sensing + minor courses | Field Camp (7 days in April)/Co-op 5 |
| Year 5 | Administrative Policy and Law, Ecological Restoration and Sustainability, Green Network Planning, Forests and Society, Recreation and Tourism Planning, Capstone Studio + minor courses | ||
| FIVE YEAR WOOD PRODUCTS PROCESSING PROGRAM MAP (CO-OP OPTION) | ||||
| Term 1 Sep – Dec | Term 2 Jan – Apr | Summer May – Aug | ||
| Year 1 | Basic Sciences, English and Math | Summer | ||
| Year 2 | Wood & Material Science | Wood Machining Skills | Co-op 1 (Junior) | |
| Year 3 | Manufacturing Basics | Co-op 2 (Intermediate) | Co-op 3 (Intermediate) | |
| Year 4 | Advanced Manufacturing | Co-op 4 (Senior) | ||
| Year 5 | Co-op 5 (Senior) | Specialization | ||
The first co-op work term is only 13 weeks in duration. All other work terms last a full four months. Co-op terms 2 & 3 and 4 & 5 may be with two different companies, or combined so that a student can work at a single company for 8 months.