Student researchers: Beata Strubel, Junior Previous studies have shown benefits to co-op participation. Since students who participate in co-ops are more likely to persist in STEM fields, and there are differences in participation rates by race/ethnicity, it is critical to understand the reasons for non-participation. Therefore, this study examined the perceived costs and benefits to co-op participation among sophomore students at a large Midwestern U.S. research university. Students were

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... ed to identify whether there are differences in perceived benefits and barriers to co-op participation when disaggregated by gender and race/ethnicity. The opportunity cost of co-ops from the perspective of co-op and non-co-op students were hypothesized to be significantly different.