Cooperative Education
Cooperative Education (Co-op)
One of the most important things a college graduate can take into a job interview is related work experience. Cooperative Education provides students with valuable training, combining academic instruction on campus with work experience in the community. The Cooperative Education program, known as Co-op, allows students to earn elective course credit while working in a job related to their major. An application process is required, as well as course tuition. Plans for Co-op should be made well in advance with the company and the Director of the EYE Program at Lander University.
Eligibility
Co op students must have completed at least 30 hours of coursework with a minimum GPA of 2.25. Transfer students who have completed 15 credit hours at Lander may also apply. Co op participation is open to students in all majors, depending on job availability.
Internships
Internships are academic experiences designed to give students practical work exposure in fields closely related to their majors. Interns work either in businesses or in agencies and are supervised by external personnel and designated faculty. Internships carry academic credit and are developed and administered by academic departments under the following institutional policy (academic departments may establish additional requirements for internships).
1. Normally students may earn no more than a total of nine credit hours for internships while enrolled at Lander. With the majority consent of the academic department, a student may earn a total of twelve credit hours from internships while enrolled at Lander. Credit for individual internships may vary but may not exceed a total of twelve credit hours for any single student.
2. A student must have a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.000 (academic departments may require higher cumulative grade point averages).
3. Academic departments may require course prerequisites for an internship.
4. A student must have earned a minimum of 45 credit hours in order to register for and undertake an internship (academic departments may require a higher minimum of credit hours).
5. Interns will normally work 96-120 hours (per three credit hour course) at their placement, the exact number of hours to be determined by the respective academic department.
Cooperative Programs with Other Institutions
In order to expand educational opportunities, the university maintains a variety of cooperative programs with colleges, universities, and other educational organizations. Detailed information on each of these programs is available from the offices specified below.
Clemson University - Lander University Engineering Dual-Degree Program enables students to combine two or three years of study in one of Lander University’s liberal arts and sciences programs with two or three years of study in an engineering discipline at Clemson and, upon completion, earn degrees from both Lander and Clemson. For further information and to see how the estimated time periods vary with each program, consult the descriptions of the different engineering dual-degree majors on pages 75-76, 325-326, 337-338, and contact the Department of Mathematics or the Department of Physical Sciences.
The Western Piedmont Education Consortium is composed of school districts within Abbeville, Anderson, Edgefield, Greenwood, Laurens, Lexington, McCormick, Newberry, Union, and Saluda Counties and the higher education institutions of Piedmont Technical College and Lander University. Through the Staff Development Network, the Consortium makes possible increased school/college cooperation that focuses upon academic training of pre service and in service teachers and applied research activities.
Technical Colleges Transfer and Articulation Agreements provide for the transfer of course credits from all 16 South Carolina technical colleges for students registered in a program leading to the Associate in Arts or Associate in Science degree. In addition, the University has developed course by course transfer guides for programs and courses other than those included in the AA and AS degree programs offered by the technical colleges. Guidelines for the transfer of credits and courses are available online at
https://www.lander.edu/admissions/undergraduate/transfer-students or through the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education.
The EYE Program
The Experience Your Education (EYE) Program is an experiential learning program at Lander University designed to provide students with the opportunity to use academic knowledge to address real world challenges in an authentic context. The program includes internships, co-ops, service learning, study abroad experiences, and course-embedded projects. Earning EYE Program credit is a great way for graduates to show a potential employer that they have real world skills and experience that may make them more competitive in the job market.
NOTE: EYE credit is not a graduation requirement and does not affect a student’s degree requirements for graduation. Students earning 120 EYE credits will receive the Golden EYE Award at graduation.
There are two ways to participate in the program:
1. The approved EYE Program activities listed under Approved Activities on the EYE Program website, www.lander.edu/eye, may provide opportunities to earn EYE credit. Students interested in earning EYE credit should contact the faculty mentor for information about the EYE activity associated with the course. The Faculty Mentor will work with the student throughout the activity to see that the expectations of the EYE Program are met and the credit is earned. Students should check the EYE Program website periodically for additional activities that will be added as they are approved. Note: Enrollment in these courses does not guarantee EYE credit. The student must work with the faculty mentor to earn the credit. Also, some of the activities are upper-level courses and may have prerequisites.
2. Look at the courses you plan to take or other activities you plan to be involved in and discuss possibilities for EYE Program credit with your instructors or the Director of the EYE Program. Other activities might include internships, co-ops, service learning, and study abroad. The process of approving and adding activities to the approved activities list will continue as new activities are identified or created.
Questions about the EYE Program should be addressed to the Director of the EYE Program at Lander University.
The Lander University Honors College
The Lander University Honors College is a community of academically gifted students who seek challenges beyond the typical classroom experience.
Lander University Honors College members
• Take specially designed Honors classes that explore topics in depth and encourage student interaction;
• Participate in faculty-led and independent research opportunities and present scholarly work at conferences and showcases;
• Enjoy a wealth of opportunities to participate in national and international study;
• Create a culture of academic excellence by taking part in cultural and social activities locally; and
• Upon completion of all Honors College requirements will receive special recognition upon graduation.
Admission and Enrollment
Admission to the Lander University Honors College is competitive.
Incoming first-year Lander freshman who wish to apply for admission to the Honors College should:
• Have a combined Math/Critical Reading SAT score of at least 1170 or a composite ACT score of at least 24, or submit additional documents in lieu of test scores; and
• Complete an application form; and
• Provide sufficient evidence of promise of academic excellence based on:
o An academic writing sample or creative portfolio;
o Two letters of recommendations from mentors, including one from a person who can address the quality of the student’s academic promise; or
o An interview with the Honors Committee.
Currently enrolled Lander students and transfer students who wish to apply for admission to the Honors College should:
• Have an overall university GPA of 3.5 or above;
• Complete an application form; and
• Provide sufficient evidence of promise of academic excellence based on any one of the following:
o An academic writing sample or creative portfolio;
o Two letters of recommendation from university faculty; or
o An interview with the Honors Committee.
To continue enrollment in the Honors College, a student must maintain an overall GPA of 3.0 and remain active in Honors coursework or activities.
If space is available, students who are not members of the Honors College may register for individual honors courses with instructor permission and Honors Director.
Honors College Curriculum
To complete all Honors College requirements, students take at least 15 hours of honors-level coursework and complete some additional challenges, as outlined below. The honors curriculum is designed to promote active learning and global awareness. Honors courses emphasize student-driven discussion, depth of inquiry, and independent and small-group learning. Other honors experiences encourage academic travel and professionalization.
Gateway Courses (4 credit hours of required coursework)
HONS 210.HONORS TRAVEL LABORATORY 1 credit hour
HONS 211.HONORS TOPICS IN THE HUMANITIES
(*General Education – Humanities and Fine Arts) 3 credit hours
Core Courses (at least 9 hours of coursework, selected from offerings below)
HONS 291.HONORS TOPICS IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS
(*General Education - Behavioral and Social Perspectives) 3 credit hours
HONS 292.HONORS TOPICS IN PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION
(*General Education – Humanities and Fine Arts) 3 credit hours
HONS 293.HONORS TOPICS IN LABORATORY SCIENCE
(*General Education – Scientific and Mathematical Reasoning) 4 credit hours
HONS 294.HONORS TOPICS IN BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE
(*General Education – Behavioral and Social Perspectives) 3 credit hours
HONS 295.HONORS TOPICS IN FINE ARTS
(*General Education - Humanities and Fine Arts) 3 credit hours
HONS 296.HONORS TOPICS IN HISTORY
(*General Education - Behavioral and Social Perspectives) 3 credit hours
HONS 297.HONORS TOPICS IN LITERATURE
(*General Education - Humanities and Fine Arts) 3 credit hours
HONS 298.HONORS TOPICS IN SCIENCE
(*General Education – Scientific and Mathematical Reasoning) 3 credit hours
HONS 299.TOPICS IN MATHEMATICS
(*General Education – Scientific and Mathematical Reasoning) 3 credit hours
HONS 389.DIRECTED INDEPENDENT STUDY 1-3 credit hours
HONS 390.SPECIAL TOPICS 1-4 credit hours
HONS 393.HONORS TOPICS IN WORLD CULTURES
(*General Education - World Cultures) 3 credit hours
*Some majors require students to take specific courses for certain General Education categories. Consult major advisor and major program requirements.
Students may pursue unique projects through individual or small group tutorials with the approval of the Honors Committee.
Break Away
Students will spend a semester or summer going beyond the traditional classroom experience. Options include study abroad, study away, internships, and directed independent research. Break Away plans are proposed by the student; the proposal form and instructions are available on the Honors College webpage. Break Away Proposals must be approved by the Honors Advisors.
Capstone Experiences (2 hours of required coursework)
HONS 489.HONORS REFLECTION SEMINAR 1 credit
HONS 499.HONORS CAPSTONE SEMINAR 1 credit
Study Abroad Opportunities
Lander encourages all students to experience another culture firsthand by living and studying abroad. Regardless of their major, students who study abroad can maintain steady progress toward graduation by taking courses overseas that count toward Lander curriculum requirements. Agreements with numerous universities and organizations allow qualified Lander students to spend a semester or summer abroad, some for no more than the cost of a semester on campus. Although most Lander students study abroad in Europe, Lander has the ability to provide such experiences throughout the world.
Lander has one-on-one agreements with several quality institutions around the world, including
the University of Winchester, in Winchester, England;
Tandem Escuela Internacional, in Madrid, Spain;
the University of Alicante, in Alicante, Spain;
Salzburg College, in Salzburg, Austria;
the University of the Aegean, in Rhodes, Greece; and
Kyungpook National University, in Daegu, South Korea.
In addition, Lander works with third-party agencies such as University Studies Abroad Consortium (USAC) and Academic Studies Abroad (ASA), to provide many more programs worldwide.
Every year, Lander faculty lead spring break and summer Study Tours focusing on topics such International Business in Munich and Prague, Cultural Studies in Peru, Visual Art in Barcelona and Venice, Medieval Britain in Scotland and England, and Teacher Education in Costa Rica. Students who have a GPA of 2.5 or above and who have completed at least 15 credit hours of college-level study may apply to participate in these Lander-sponsored short-term overseas experiences.
Honors College students are especially encouraged to study abroad for a semester or summer options include study abroad, study away, internships, and directed independent research. Honors College students are encouraged to apply to the Global Scholars Program and may receive a competitive study abroad scholarship.
Students who plan to spend a semester abroad should confer with their advisors to plan their academic program two or three semesters in advance. The World Cultures requirement for General Education is waived for students who spend a full semester on an approved study abroad program (although each student must still earn the minimum number of hours required for a Lander degree.)
Students who wish to participate in a study abroad program should contact the Director of Study Abroad by email at studyabroad@lander.edu. For further information see: https://www.lander.edu/academics/study-abroad/index.html. Lander will not approve student travel to countries that are listed by the U.S. Department of State as unsafe for American travelers. Study at institutions that do not provide services and support for visiting international students will not be recommended.
Study abroad involves expenses in addition to those associated with attending Lander University. Most financial aid can be applied to study abroad, and special scholarship support for study abroad is available.