For over 100 years, the College of Engineering and Applied Science has maintained strong ties to local and national industries, through cooperative education assignments, research funding, and graduate placements.

In 1906, under the direction of then Dean Herman Schneider, the college began requiring its students to work and attend classes in alternating periods. This combination proved so successful in preparing graduates for their later careers that it has been adapted in many colleges within the University of Cincinnati and across the nation. The co-op program is one of many distinguishing factors that makes UC Boldly Bearcat.