Drexel's array of programs, concentrations, courses and curricula are designed to prepare students for critical issues in science, technology, health sciences, information science, media arts, the humanities, and business to shape the next generation workforce and professoriate, and provide them the basic skills to be effective practitioners, communicators, and leaders. Drexel's programs are complemented by co-operative education experiences for many of our students, where theory and practice converge.

A pioneer in co-operative education since 1919, Drexel operates one of the oldest and largest co-operative education programs in the nation. Under the Drexel co-op plan, students attend classes full-time for their entire freshman year. Then, depending on their academic program, they alternate periods of full-time classroom studies and full-time professional employment with University-approved employers. Students can repeat this cycle up to three times, gaining up to 18 months of real-world, professional work experience to complement their diploma.

Drexel's academic calendar is based on a quarter system; a student's co-op cycle defines which quarters he or she will participate in the co-op experience. For example, students with a fall/winter co-op cycle will work full-time during the fall and winter quarters, while a student with a spring/summer co-op cycle will work full-time during the spring and summer quarters. Co-op cycles are typically assigned during freshman year.

A few programs in the College of Nursing and Health Professions, School of Public Health, and Drexel University College of Medicine operate on the semester system. For students in the health sciences programs, classroom work is augmented with extensive hands-on experiences in a wide range of clinical settings.