A study investigated the impact of cooperative education on the amount of starting salary attained by participating graduates when compared to nonparticipating graduates. A literature review focused on the history of cooperative education, program designs, and general student benefits. Career Planning and Placement Center survey results for the graduating classes of 1987-88 and 1988-89 from a large, Midwest university were used to determine the starting salary of its graduates (n=774). Cooperative education placement records were used to identify and isolate the experimental group of co-op graduates (n=152) from the control group of nonparticipating graduates (n=622). Applied instruments were a one-way test for homogeneity of variance, a mean salary computation by year, and a T-test. Results revealed a significant relationship between cooperative education participation and higher than average starting salaries. The experimental group acquired significantly higher starting salaries than the control group. (Contains 37 references.) (Author/YLB)