Experiential Learning

Graduate with more than a degree and explore your career options with Arts Co-op.

As an Arts Co-op PhD student, you’ll gain 12 months of paid work experience and a network of professional contacts through a variety of opportunities in the public, private and non-profit sectors.

Arts Co-op partners with a diverse range of employers to provide transformative workplace learning experiences for your personal, academic and professional growth while helping you prepare for your future career.

The English PhD Co-op program gives students the opportunity to:

  • Explore various career options and gain substantial experience to put on their resumes
  • Enrich academic learning with workplace experience
  • Develop their professional skills and network
  • Engage in paid public humanities or community engagement work
  • Apply to positions that require students to be in a co-op program (such as federal government jobs and some positions in the cultural industries)
  • Finance their degrees with relevant, paid work

Employers hire UBC English PhD co-op students based on their specialized skills and potential career interests. UBC English PhD students can expect to work in areas such as:

  • Academic administration
  • Communications and public relations
  • Curriculum development
  • Instruction and training
  • Project management
  • Research and analysis
  • Web design and content development
  • Writing and editing

Co-op coordinators work closely with employers locally, nationally, and internationally to develop challenging, career-related positions for co-op students in the non-profit, government (federal/provincial/municipal), and private business sectors.

To learn more about the experience of participating in PhD Co-op from people who’ve done it, read:

The breadth of experience position provided was extremely useful. As a PhD student, I am used to working in areas of intense specificity and generalization. This position required me to think more generally, working as part of a team on a very diverse array of tasks and projects.

Jonathan Newell
PhD '17
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