BOSTON — Students at two Massachusetts public universities are expected to gain new opportunities to earn money while completing their degrees under a state-funded expansion of paid cooperative education programs. The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and Worcester State University have been awarded a combined $60,000 to develop programs connecting classroom education with professional employment, according to an announcement from Gov. Maura Healey’s administration.

The new programs are expected to launch during the 2027–2028 academic year, giving the universities approximately a year to establish academic arrangements, build relationships with employers and prepare recruitment plans. The awards represent an expansion of the Massachusetts Cooperative Education Initiative, which aims to make paid work-based learning more widely available across the state’s public higher education system.

The announcement was issued November 6, with additional regional reporting drawing attention to the funding and its implications for students. The programs remain in development, meaning students have not yet been offered positions under the newly funded arrangements.

At UMass Dartmouth, university officials intend to establish cooperative education opportunities in allied health and health care. The effort will emphasize partnerships with employers across southeastern Massachusetts, particularly communities in the South Coast region. The proposed placements are intended to help students obtain relevant workplace experience while supporting employers seeking qualified workers.

UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Mark A. Fuller said the funding would help create additional pathways for students pursuing allied health careers. The university expects closer cooperation with regional health care organizations to connect academic training with workplace needs. The state announcement did not identify specific participating employers or disclose how many positions the university expects to offer during the initial year.

Worcester State University is pursuing a broader set of disciplinary opportunities. Its proposed cooperative education programs will involve municipal and cultural affairs, chemistry and biotechnology, and early childhood education. The range reflects an approach designed to connect students with public institutions, community organizations and private-sector employers.

Worcester State President Barry Maloney has previously outlined efforts to integrate cooperative education into the university’s academic structure. In a letter published in Worcester State Magazine in June 2026, Maloney described plans for three municipal cooperative education opportunities involving the City of Worcester. Those arrangements would connect the university’s Urban Studies major with different academic minors through its MajorPlus framework.

The university has also been developing employer relationships through its School of Science, Technology, and Health. Those partnerships were intended to support paid student work experiences across multiple departments, providing a foundation for the newly funded program.

Under the state’s cooperative education model, students generally participate in full-time paid employment lasting four to eight months. The work is related to their course of study and is designed to provide substantial professional experience before they finish their degrees.

That structure distinguishes cooperative education from shorter internships or conventional campus jobs. Students may spend an extended period carrying out professional responsibilities, developing technical skills and becoming familiar with workplace expectations. The arrangement can also help employers evaluate prospective employees before graduation.

Massachusetts officials pointed to the established cooperative education program at UMass Lowell as an example of the model’s financial potential. According to the administration, students completing six-month cooperative education placements at UMass Lowell earn an average of $20,714 during their work experience.

That figure illustrates earnings associated with UMass Lowell’s existing program rather than a guaranteed wage for future participants at UMass Dartmouth or Worcester State. Compensation at the newly participating campuses will depend on the positions, employers and arrangements eventually established.

The Massachusetts Cooperative Education Initiative is organized through a partnership between the Department of Higher Education’s Innovation Hub and UMass Lowell. The Lowell campus serves as an experienced institutional partner, providing technical assistance, coaching and opportunities for participating universities to exchange information about program design.

The latest funding follows an earlier round of grants supporting cooperative education development at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Bridgewater State University and Framingham State University. Those institutions received a combined $210,000 in First Mover grants to develop and implement new programs.

With UMass Dartmouth and Worcester State joining the initiative, five public campuses are participating in the statewide expansion. The new awards belong to the subsequent Fast Follower funding round, which was announced in July and designed to help additional public four-year institutions establish cooperative education programs.

The Department of Higher Education expects the two new participants to complete planning work covering academic program design, prospective employer partnerships, student recruitment, long-term financing and evaluation. They will also join statewide peer-learning activities and contribute to common practices that could support additional expansion.

Education Secretary Steve Zrike said cooperative education provides a connection between academic knowledge and applied professional experience. Interim Commissioner of Higher Education José Luis Santos described the expansion from three to five campuses as an important step toward creating a broader statewide cooperative education model.

The initiative also reflects Massachusetts’ ongoing effort to strengthen the relationship between public higher education and workforce development. The Department of Higher Education established its Innovation Hub in 2025 with support from a $2.1 million grant from Axim Collaborative, a nonprofit organization focused on innovation in postsecondary education.

The Innovation Hub is intended to identify, test and expand approaches that improve college access, strengthen student outcomes and better connect education with employment opportunities. Paid cooperative education is one of its priorities, alongside the broader goal of helping more students translate academic achievement into career preparation.

For participating institutions, the central challenge will be converting program plans into dependable employment opportunities. Universities must identify employers willing to provide paid positions, establish appropriate academic arrangements and determine how students can integrate extended periods of employment into their degree schedules.

Student access will also depend on practical decisions that remain unresolved. The November announcement did not specify participant eligibility rules, application deadlines, individual compensation levels or the number of placements expected at either university. Those details will become important as the institutions move toward implementation.

The financial implications extend beyond wages alone. Extended paid employment may provide students with income while they pursue a degree, but the benefits will depend on placement availability, work schedules, transportation needs and compatibility with academic requirements. The state has not released projections estimating how much students at the two new campuses could collectively earn.

For employers, cooperative education can provide a structured opportunity to work with students who are developing specialized knowledge. In the health care and biotechnology sectors, the model may strengthen connections between university programs and regional industries. Municipal and early childhood education placements could similarly connect students with public-service organizations seeking future workers.

Healey has presented paid cooperative education as a way to help students begin building careers within Massachusetts. Her administration argues that opportunities combining academic study with employment can strengthen graduates’ connections to local businesses and organizations, potentially supporting workforce retention after graduation.

UMass Lowell Chancellor Julie Chen also expressed support for extending cooperative education to additional public institutions, emphasizing the value of sharing lessons from the university’s established program.

For now, the two newly funded universities are entering a planning phase rather than immediately opening a large pool of student jobs. Their progress over the coming academic year will determine the size, structure and accessibility of the initial placements. The anticipated 2027–2028 launch will provide the first opportunity to assess how the latest grants translate into paid student employment at UMass Dartmouth and Worcester State.