UVA Launches Career Design Initiative

"In response, the University of Virginia's College of Arts and Sciences is embedding career design directly into the undergraduate experience. Building on a redesigned pre-major advising model that raised student satisfaction in its annual survey from 64 percent to 89 percent in under two years, the college is launching the Career Design and Discovery Initiative, a collegewide effort to integrate advising, academics and experiential learning for all students."

"Christa Acampora, UVA's dean of arts and sciences, said the broader goal is to move away from a service model and toward a more blended approach. "How do we meet the person as a whole learner and not just somebody who needs a set of services?" Acampora said. "We have such a large and beautifully complex, exciting and fascinating set of academic offerings for students, and really our academic advisers needed to be in a position to teach students how to discover what those opportunities are.""

Artificial intelligence, loan debt and an unpredictable labor market make career uncertainty a major stressor for college students. The University of Virginia College of Arts and Sciences is embedding career design into the undergraduate experience. A redesigned pre-major advising model raised student satisfaction from 64 percent to 89 percent in under two years. The Career Design and Discovery Initiative will integrate advising, academics and experiential learning collegewide for all students. The initiative shifts from a service model to a blended approach that treats students as whole learners and equips advisers to help students discover academic and experiential opportunities. The effort connects academic interests to internships, research and community engagement and emphasizes judgment, ethical imagination and creativity as human advantages amid AI-driven changes to entry-level pathways.

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