Those questions and his responses follow.
PW: How many students are enrolled in the program, and what are its graduation requirements?
RT: Clemson University student attendance averages 14ꯠ total; with about 150 full-time in packaging. We have December, May, and August graduations. To earn a Bachelor of Science in packaging science requires 136 semester hours in all, with roughly half general education courses and half for major and minor courses related to packaging science. A student has to have 30 semester hours of packaging science courses.
Students are also required to experience a six-month industry co-op. That means they earn class credit while they work with companies all across the country. We have a Cooperative Education Program that coordinates most of that activity. Companies come here to our campus, interview students, and hire student co-ops like they would for a regular job. Students do a variety of tasks that depend on what the company requires. Companies are interested because it gives them an early chance to look at some talent. It’s like a long interview process. They’ll bring in the student and get them involved in projects such as packaging design, testing programs, and specifications. We certify the co-op job through our Office of Cooperative Education. On average, we have about 50 different companies involved.
