In 1925 the engineering faculty requested a cooperative work-study program for students in engineering, and the program was begun in 1926 with Wiley Thomas as its first director. Originally, the program required one year of study in engineering, and then four years in cooperative work—six months of study at the university, alternating with six months of work in industry. The plan was later changed to alternate three months of study with three months of work following the university’s academic calendar. The program was the eighteenth of its kind in the United States. In 1933 the College of Home Economics instituted a co-op program for students interested in institutional management that required alternating quarters of on-campus study and off-campus work in an institution such as a hospital or school.