College to Career Projects
These College to Career project investments will scale impactful initiatives, broaden student support and deepen community partnerships across campus.
President's Pilot Projects (Phase 1)
Awarded November 11, 2024
Corporate Mentorship Program
Mike Ilitch School of Business
Ilitch Business will expand the school’s Corporate Mentorship Program, created with corporate partner Ally. The program pairs first-generation students in the school with corporate mentors using the software platform Xinspire. Funding for the program will expand the platform license to 250 users, broadening mentorship opportunities to all students in the school.
Preparing Culturally Responsive Teachers for Metro Detroit Public Schools
College of Education
This program aims to prepare culturally responsive teachers who can connect with and support the diverse identities of students in metro Detroit by offering competitive summer internships that immerse teacher education students in community spaces, enhancing their understanding of local culture and resources. The program will pilot in 2025 with five students, expanding to 10 to 15 internships per summer based on funding, in partnership with organizations like City Year and United Way.
College-to-Career Seminar Course
College of Engineering
The College-to-Career Seminar Course will engage freshman, sophomore and transfer engineering students by connecting them with alumni across various industries to discuss career paths, job responsibilities and industry demands, fostering a greater sense of belonging and enhancing retention. This course will support approximately 200 students annually and provide networking opportunities and career insights from industry partners.
STiLE Career Readiness Program
College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts
The STiLE program supports up to 20 students annually by enhancing career readiness through internships, job shadowing and skill-building opportunities, while reducing barriers like tuition and transportation costs through micro scholarships. The program also features a guest speaker series focused on career preparation. The initiative aims to increase equitable access and degree completion for underrepresented students, fostering a culturally responsive and supportive environment for future career success.
College-to-Career for Graduate Students: Policy-Based Internships
Graduate School
This program will match two doctoral students from the humanities and social sciences with public policy-focused nonprofits or governmental organizations associated with TechTown. The initiative provides opportunities for doctoral students seeking to gain experience in policy or nonprofits with short-term, project-based internships that will support research and scholarship and will be designed in partnership with doctoral mentors.
Climate and Environment Internships
Irvin D. Reid Honors College
The Climate and Environment Internship program will provide paid internship experiences for Honors College students with local nonprofit organizations. The program aims to remove barriers for internship participation and strengthen partnerships with community organizations, with a special focus on small businesses and nonprofits focused on climate and the environment.
Community-Engaged Digital Preservation: Detroit Music Fellowship
School of Information Sciences
The Digital Media Projects Lab equips students with essential skills in digitizing and preserving audio formats, fostering collaboration with local cultural institutions to safeguard Detroit’s rich musical and historical heritage. This paid program enhances career readiness in the growing field of audio-visual preservation, impacting both students and community partners.
Expungement Navigators Program
Law School
The Wayne Law Expungement Navigators program equips undergraduate and J.D. students with practical legal training alongside faculty while assisting community members through the complex expungement process, enhancing access to justice. The program’s goal is to expand into other areas of civil law, fostering students’ professional growth and addressing critical legal service gaps in the community.
Face of Justice Mentoring Program
Law School
The Face of Justice Mentoring Program, in partnership with the State Bar of Michigan, aims to introduce and build a pipeline for students into the legal profession by connecting them with attorneys, judges and legal professionals. The program will expand to accommodate 30 to 60 students per semester, enhancing career exploration and professional development and increasing access for underrepresented minority students.
Cass Tech x WSU English
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, English
The Cass Tech x WSU English program provides Wayne State students with practical teaching experience and transferable professional skills while fostering collaboration and mentorship with Cass Technical High School students. This initiative impacts 100 WSU students and 200 Cass Tech students annually, enhancing education and community engagement.
Community Outreach Initiative to Speed up Student Success
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Communication Sciences & Disorders
The Community Outreach Initiative Program will engage three to four students each semester to apply classroom knowledge in real-world settings by providing education-oriented presentations on topics related to audiology and speech language pathology. This program will enhance public awareness of communication disorders, support career success, and increase recruitment and enrollment by connecting students with the community and fostering professional confidence.
Public Health Partnerships to Good Health and Good Careers
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Public Health
The Public Health Partnerships to Good Health and Good Careers program will support 25 to 35 public health students annually by providing career-engaged learning opportunities, including paid programs and access to credentials, to enhance job prospects. This initiative leverages experienced faculty and community partnerships to connect students with professional networks and practical training.
Empowering Health for Our Urban Neighborhoods through STEP-UP: Simulated Teaching Experiences in Primary Care for Urban Populations
School of Medicine, College of Nursing, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
This project aims to advance interprofessional education by creating high-quality primary care simulations that feature standardized patients and demonstrate interprofessional collaborative care models. By preparing students from three colleges for teamwork in real-world primary care settings, including the student-run clinic at Cabrini Health Center and the Taylor Street Primary Care Clinic, the initiative seeks to strengthen their ability to deliver interprofessional, collaborative and patient-centered care.
Career Preparation Accelerator
Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
The Career Preparation Accelerator aims to enhance career development resources for graduate and professional students in the Division of Pharmacy by providing personalized career planning, mentorship and networking opportunities. This initiative, supporting up to 400 students, will improve student engagement with career services, increase employability and connect students with local employers, alumni and faculty.
Pediatric Behavioral Health Clinic
School of Social Work
The Pediatric Behavioral Health Clinic integrates behavioral health services within the WSU Pediatric practice, providing essential support to families while offering experiential learning opportunities for social work, medicine and nursing students. This innovative model, in partnership with Wayne Pediatrics and Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute for Child & Family Development, trains students in infant mental health and perinatal mood disorders while supporting community health needs.
Existing College to Career Projects
Funded in 2023-24 academic year
Transatlantic Virtual Exchange
College of Engineering
Students from WSU’s College of Engineering and the College of Engineering at Ruhr West University for Science and Technology in Germany will participate in the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) program. The COIL program includes a research project completed online in the U.S., Germany and online, providing students with the skills necessary to collaborate and thrive in a global environment.
Communication Summer Skills Institute
College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts
The Communication Summer Skills Institute aims to equip graduate students with essential career-readiness skills aligned with NACE’s eight core competencies through lectures, group discussions and hands-on learning. While Wayne State provides robust College to Career support for undergraduates, this program fills a crucial gap by offering tailored professional development for graduate students, enhancing their readiness for diverse career paths and professional environments.
Integrating Interviewing Skills Into COM 1010
College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts
COM 1010 aims to equip more than 1,200 undergraduates annually with essential public speaking skills for both in-person and virtual environments. By integrating the Big Interview platform and requiring a Handshake account, the program strengthens students’ public speaking abilities and connects them to valuable career resources early in their college journey.
Transatlantic Summer Academy
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Nutrition and Food Science
The Transatlantic Summer Academy will provide new global experience opportunities for students enrolled in nutrition and food science programs. Students will complete a special topics class in the area of sustainability and participate in a rotating global experience between the U.S. and Germany, expanding their perspectives and collaborating with international peers.
Political Science Project-Based Learning
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Political Science
The Department of Political Science will expand its public organization and nonprofit classes with new project-based learning, experiential learning and field work initiatives. The seed funding will also offer new opportunities for students to present and network at the Michigan Political Science Association, building important collaboration skills and providing important hands-on industry experiences.
Blumenstein Internships
Transfer Student Success Center
The Blumenstein Internship seed funding provides additional grant support for transfer students to complete discipline-based internships. Ten students of junior or senior class level will be offered support for tuition or other expenses while completing an unpaid internship. The award aims to remove barriers for transfer students as they gain valuable hands-on career experience.
Learn more about our faculty, students and alumni College to Career experiences.