When it comes to job readiness, employers are looking for the three C’s: Communications. Creativity. Critical Thinking. These are three skills that liberal arts majors typically have in abundance and skills that serve them well throughout their careers. At the University of Rhode Island, undergraduates in the College of Arts and Sciences are now gaining an additional employment preparedness advantage through a unique new Career Readiness program—a four-year journey from college to career.
Your Career Journey
From your first days on campus to graduation day, we'll guide you in translating your skills and knowledge into a satisfying career and life after college.
Mentorship. Career exploration. Research and creative opportunities. Internships.
Students are most successful when they are engaged in the college experience from day one. As an incoming student, you can be matched with a peer mentor to find your place both academically and socially, putting you on a solid footing for the years to come. In your second year, you will learn about career options, engage with alumni to discuss career paths, and find out how a liberal arts education enables career success.
In years three and four, you will have the opportunity to develop marketable skills through a series of one-credit courses that include “Excel Data Analysis for Everyone;” “Power BI Data Visualization for Everyone;” and “Programming in R for Everyone.” You will also be guided to engage in internship experiences to develop skills outside the classroom. Best of all, funding is available to help offset the costs of unpaid internships and summer research opportunities through our Internship Fund and Student Fellows program.
“With the workforce evolving at such a rapid pace, liberal arts graduates are going to get jobs that don’t exist yet. We’re preparing them to be adaptable and flexible as the economy shifts around them.”College of Arts and Sciences Dean Jeannette E. Riley
Read more about how our students are taking advantage of career readiness opportunities.
Career Readiness Stories
- ‘Linking Humanities to Careers’ event shows students they have the skills for success - URI alumni return to campus to talk with students about how training in the humanities prepared them for successful careers.
- Samantha Adams ’24 - Samantha is creating images of "bright radio-loud objects" -- the suspected supermassive black holes lurking at the center of galaxies.
- Olivia Belitsos ’23 - Olivia is working to better understand the social factors that may underlie opioid use disorder.