Career development

Career development is a holistic journey.

At Clark University, career development begins when students arrive on campus. Grounded in experiential learning, reflection, and community engagement, Clark’s approach to career development empowers students to explore their interests, build essential skills, and connect their academic experiences to meaningful career pathways. Through a supportive ecosystem of programs, experiences, and personal guidance, students are equipped to grow with confidence, purpose, and a strong sense of direction for their future.

Clark students engage in experiential learning opportunities that help them build essential skills, explore career pathways, and access a wide range of supportive resources.

Start here: your first year

Students gather for a group activity during orientation

First-Year Intensive & Navigator

First-Year Intensive courses and the Navigator program help you build a strong foundation for your academic and career journeys from the start. Every first-year student is introduced to the Career Connections Center staff, resources, programs and experiential learning opportunities at Clark.

Experiential Major Maps

Let us help clarify your goals, and make informed decisions about your academic and career path. Major maps highlight learning opportunities in and out of the classroom and provide an opportunity to reflect on the experiences that support career development.

Build skills

Life and Career Design Courses

Students can enroll in a range of interdisciplinary life and career design courses offered by the Career Connections Center. Through these courses, students earn academic credit while engaging in hands-on experiences, building essential career readiness skills, and dedicating time to reflect, plan, and take action toward their personal growth and future career goals.

Example courses

Courses include:

IDND 103- Design your Clark Experience: Connect Your Story to Your Career
IDND 104- Deepening Your Skills Through Experiential Learning
IDND 203- Interdisciplinary Internship Course
IDND 105- Design your Clark Experience: Life Beyond Clark

Each course is offered in the fall and spring semesters. To learn more about these career readiness courses, schedule an appointment with a career advisor via Handshake.

Gain experience

Academic Internship Program

Earn academic credit for internships, with a maximum of 4.0 units of internship credit allowed over the course of your undergraduate studies.

clark graduate student internship with mass state house rep

Experiential Learning Funding

Clark offers many opportunities to receive funding for internships, research, and special projects. Schedule an appointment with a career advisor to learn more about funding awards.

Showcase and reflect

ClarkFEST

Showcase your academic, research, and experiential work to the campus community. The event offers a valuable opportunity to present ideas, reflect on learning, and build confidence while sharpening key transferable career skills—particularly the ability to clearly communicate experiences, demonstrate strengths, and prepare for interviews, networking, and future professional opportunities.

The Clark Experience e-Portfolio

A dynamic platform to document, reflect on, and showcase your learning beyond the classroom. By curating projects, internships, research, and other experiential opportunities, you can clearly demonstrate your skills, growth, and impact while telling your own story.

Connect with your advisor

To discuss your career development, schedule a one on one appointment today.

Book an appointment via Handshake

Email cservices@clarku.edu