A series of three-month periods of full-time work for pay commensurate with the value of the job performance has much to offer in the training of chemistry majors for graduate school or for industrial/government positions.
Indiana-Purdue University at Indianapolis Peter Rubideau Department of Chemistry IC1PIII is a State-suppwted University in Indiana's largest city. It has more than 20,000 students and an established record of working with the surrounding community. The name Ilni\erCit\r" IS alxm~uriate .. . in view of its clwe relationshin with local business, industry and government. Students who seek entry into the M.S. Industrial Co-op Program in Chemistry are first admitted as graduate students in the usual fashion. The first semester consists only of coursework, and during this period students visit local industry and make formal application to the co-op option. At the end of the first semester, a "parallel" co-op experience heeins which consists of 20 hours ner week at a local industrial " laboratory with the remaining time (e.g. afternoons and evenings) devoted to coursework and thesis research. This pattern then continues for the duration of the program (24 months). Stipends are awarded a t the rate of $400 per month for the first semester and near $700 per month after the work experience begins. In the event a student is not accepted into (or does not choose) the co-op option hut is neverthkless in good standing, he or she may continue to receive support as a teaching or research assistant in the department until the decree is completed. he program is managed by myself and a committee consisting of the departmental rrsearch and graduate studies committee (4). adjunct farulty members (4) and official rep-
resentatives from each of the industries currently involved (3). The program is new and will admit eight students for the first time in the fall of 1980. We envision reaching a level of 10 to 15 first- and second-year student particip&ts in the program. Substantial commitments have been made by all parties concerned. Local industry and the University will share in sunnortina students for the first semester. which consists onlv ofcoursework. The University will also drovide complete remission of tuition and fees. After the work exnerience heeins students will receive a "salary" directly from the i n d u s k a l laboratory. Since the program is new, we have few experiences to share. We have, however, found I d industrv to he enthusiastic and cooperative, and the planning and fo&ulation of the program has been a joint effort. The following points should be noted: 1)we are an urhan university and as such interaction with the Indianapoli~community is part uf tmr 'missmi". 2, them ~ h t ~ be l da lceit!mnte plarr in the job market for welltrained -arndu~teehemrsti w h stAd itidustrial experience. 3) By this means the M.S. degree in chemistry should once more he established as a worthwhile academic accomplishment. 4) industriallacademicinteraction is enhanced by such programs, particularly in a "parallel" arrangement where both industrial and academic chemists serve together in monitoring the progress of students.
We are very optimistic about the value of this new program to our students, our department, and.our industrial community.
Volume 57, Number 6, June 1980 / 441
