Mentorship. Career exploration. Research and creative opportunities. Internships.
Employers are looking for the three C’s: Communications. Creativity. Critical Thinking. These are three skills that liberal arts majors typically have in abundance that will 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
Year 1
Career readiness year one introduces first-year students to available career development resources and matches them with peer mentors to support them in negotiating college life and nurture a sense of belonging on campus. URI 101 is an introductory course created by the College of Arts and Sciences that starts students on the path to thinking about career options.
Year 2
In year two, students participate in workshops connecting their majors to careers, learn about personal branding, participate in “micro-internships” (on-campus and short-term opportunities) and engage with alumni through career networking events where they can ask questions, learn how careers unfold, and start to map their own path.
Year 3
Year three immerses students in practical skills for landing a job. Learn to craft a resume. Optimize search rankings on LinkedIn. Take a Rhode Trip, where students visit leading Rhode Island companies and organizations to network with hiring teams. Students are guided to pursue internships to help them experience the work place and build their skills outside the classroom. Our Internship Fund can cover costs associated with transportation, professional attire, or offset the need to work a paying job during the internship period. Lunch and Learn Chats are virtual sessions where students join executives and other professionals to discuss careers, core skills, and transitioning to the business world.
Year 4
In year four, students put together all the skills they have learned in previous years to reinforce learning opportunities and prepare for the job market. Getting the Job Workshops teach students how to prepare for interviews, negotiate salaries, and manage their own personal finances. They can engage in learn the basics of coding through a course called “Coding with R” and a course on data visualization where they learn how to read and interpret data to further develop their career toolbox and critical thinking skills.
Collect Your Career Readiness Badges!
We recommend these courses to juniors and seniors in the college with the goal to optimize job application preparation and build marketable skills to future employers. Once you achieve your Career Readiness digital badges, your job applications and profiles have the opportunity to stand out and support the skills you’ve worked so hard to earn! Each one-credit course is uniquely designed for your central cluster (think fine arts, humanities, sciences). Complete three professional data set skills courses to round out your marketable skills. Reach out to your department coordinator today.
Career Readiness
Earn your Career Readiness badge by completing your workplace readiness course and three one-credit skill-building courses. Once your courses are verified, you will receive your digital badge to share in your email signature and LinkedIn profile for future employers to see. When sharing on your LinkedIn profile, simply add media to your “education” section and detail the merit of your Career Readiness badge as context to future employers.
Workplace Readiness
Our one-credit workplace readiness classes help students to develop writing, networking, media, and culturally-competent workplace skills. They also offer opportunities to engage with field experts and prominent URI alumni working in a variety of industries. Classes are tailored to students in the social sciences, arts and humanities, and communications.
Excel
DSP 101 – Excel Data Analysis for Everyone
Microsoft Excel is a powerful and ubiquitous tool for organizing and analyzing data. The basics of Excel can be applied in nearly any line of work, and can help students as they proceed through their college careers.
R
DSP 103 – Introduction to R for Everyone
R is a statistical programming language widely used in industry and academia. This class gives students with no prior programming experience a strong foundation in this powerful language.
Power BI
DSP 102 – Power BI Data Analysis for Everyone
Microsoft Power BI enables users to turn data into striking visualizations. Students learn the Power BI basics, which can be applied in future classes or after graduation.
“I think this class did a great job in helping people prepare for the future workforce, which was the goal of the class. One exceptional thing was it introduced us to people in the field and encouraged us to connect on LinkedIn, which could be valuable for networking in the future.”Abby Wildgoose ’24
