CLA Career Readiness and Student Recruitment
The Career Readiness Initiative in the College of Liberal Arts (CLA) at the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities is highlighted via a case study in "Strategies for Recruiting Students to the Humanities: A Comprehensive Resource," a report from the National Humanities Alliance.
CLA's Career Readiness Initiative is showcased as a shining example of a robust, multi-faceted approach to articulating career pathways for undergraduates who study the humanities, offering insight into how CLA has been able to launch and sustain such an ambitious initiative. The case study focuses in particular on the role of CLA faculty in shifting students' perceptions about the applicability of their humanities studies to their career readiness.
The National Humanities Alliance found that “student concerns about job prospects” is the most influential challenge to recruiting students to take humanities courses or major in the humanities. Therefore, helping prospective humanities students discern how they will apply the skills they gain can be an effective student recruitment strategy, as the report describes.
The report is part of Study the Humanities, an initiative of the National Humanities Alliance Foundation that serves to strengthen humanities recruitment efforts across the country. The National Humanities Alliance is a nationwide coalition of organizations advocating for the humanities on campuses, in communities, and on Capitol Hill, with more than 200 member organizations that include colleges, universities, libraries, museums, cultural organizations, state humanities councils, and scholarly, professional, and higher education associations.
