DAAP co-op connects students with Fortune 500 companies

DAAP co-op connects students with Fortune 500 companies

From Cincinnati to global brands, students gain experience through UC's co-op program

For University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP) students, co-op is an opportunity to take the skills and ideas developed in the classroom into professional environments. Through UC's cooperative education program, DAAP students have worked with some of the country's largest companies, gaining experience across industries and disciplines.

During the most recent three-year period, 13 Fortune 500 companies hired DAAP co-op students, according to data provided by the College of Cooperative Education and Professional Studies (CCPS). The employers include Cincinnati-based companies as well as national and global organizations in consumer products, retail, manufacturing, technology, aerospace, health care, entertainment and the built environment.

The relationships demonstrate the breadth of opportunities available to DAAP students and the range of professional settings where design, creativity and problem-solving skills are valued.

Fortune 500 companies hired DAAP co-op students across a range of creative disciplines during the most recent three-year period. Source: College of Cooperative Education and Professional Studies (CCPS)

Cincinnati connections

Two of DAAP's largest Fortune 500 co-op employers are headquartered in Cincinnati: Procter & Gamble and Kroger. Their presence in the data reflects the strong connection between DAAP and the region's business community.

Procter & Gamble has been a particularly significant employer of DAAP students, with students from communication design, interior design, design, fashion design and fine arts gaining co-op experience with the company. Kroger has likewise hired students across industrial design, interior design, communication design, architecture, design and community planning.

GE Aerospace has also hired communication design students. Cummins, another major employer of DAAP students, has provided opportunities for students in fine arts and communication design, illustrating how creative expertise can contribute within a global manufacturing and technology company.

Beyond Cincinnati

DAAP's Fortune 500 co-op connections extend well beyond the region. The list includes companies such as Apple, the Walt Disney Company, AECOM, Humana, Caterpillar and Intuitive Surgical, along with Cintas, Kohl's and Elevance Health.

The range of employers reflects the variety of career paths available to DAAP graduates. Aside the Cincinnati based companies, Communication design students have found opportunities in companies ranging from Apple to Humana and Intuitive Surgical. Interior design students have worked with employers including the Walt Disney Company, while fashion design students have gained experience with Cintas and Kohl's.

Students in architecture and urban planning have also connected their education to professional practice through employers such as AECOM. Industrial design students have gained experience with companies including Caterpillar.

A bridge between classroom and career

Co-op is central to UC's experiential learning model, giving students opportunities to test their skills in professional settings while continuing their education. For DAAP students, those experiences can complement studio work, research and interdisciplinary coursework with direct exposure to clients, teams, business processes and the challenges of professional practice.

The relationship is also valuable to employers. Companies gain access to students who bring creative, technical and analytical perspectives shaped by DAAP's interdisciplinary environment. Students, in turn, gain a clearer understanding of how their education can translate across industries and professional roles.

The Fortune 500 employers represent only part of DAAP's broader co-op network. Together, these relationships demonstrate the reach of the college's programs and the many ways DAAP students are contributing to organizations across Cincinnati and beyond.

For DAAP students, the experience is not simply about adding a company name to a résumé. It is an opportunity to learn how their ideas and skills can create value in the workplace and to bring that experience back to the classroom as they continue preparing for their careers.

Your career is next

Through one of the nation's most robust co-op programs, UC students don't just learn about their future - they live it, alternating classroom study with real, career-shaping experience in industries around the world.

Students: Earn while you learn at UC.

Employers: Find your next hire.

Featured image at top of a student working in a studio. Photo/UC Marketing + Communications/Andrew Higley

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