You'll finish college ready to take the next steps in your life. Whether it is graduate school or starting a career, your educational experiences on- and off-campus will have made the difference. If you have a specific career goal already, you can look for the majors that will move you in the direction you want to head.
Real-world experiences
Add up off-campus study, faculty-directed research and internships and you end up with meaningful experiences and workforce preparation. Nine out of 10 alums say they benefited from these kinds of experiences, which helped make them career-ready.
The Mayo Innovation Scholars Program is just one example of this kind of opportunity. Teams of undergrads work to assess the feasibility of commercializing a Mayo Clinic innovation, assessing a variety of issues from both a scientific and logistical perspective. Ellen Arnold, a recent graduate of the College of Saint Benedict, noted that the experience brought classroom-learning to life, requiring collaboration among students of multiple disciplines. “It taught me how to embrace ambiguity, research diligently and work professionally with a group of intelligent and hard-working peers,” she said.
Grad schools & jobs
For 17 percent of our most recent graduates, the next step is to go on to earn another degree. Credit the opportunities at our colleges for undergrads to work closely with faculty for setting the stage for additional research and education.
For the majority moving into the workforce, employers seek the knowledge and skills that our grads have. Along with specific skills, employers want to hire people who are flexible, creative, and curious — all of which goes to the heart of a liberal arts education. One measure of the value employers place in our graduates is their pay; the median earnings of our alumni working full-time in Minnesota four years after graduation is $61,000.
Private colleges support students through strong alumni networks, support of career services, internships and meetings with recruiters. These colleges how a vibrant annual Job and Internship Fair proves to be a great way for our seniors from all of our colleges to meet with potential employers.
Think beyond your major
Undergraduate majors can lead to many different types of careers. LinkedIn's college profiles are a handy way to explore to explore the wide range of career options that each major can result in — although you do need an account to use it and the information is based only on those who have accounts on LinkedIn. Simply search for the college and click on "alumni" on the college's page.