Emerson College is completely transforming the way it prepares students for an evolving world of work with the launch of the reimagined and restructured Emerson Career Design Center, which centers around a model that integrates career readiness throughout a student’s academic experience, and sets them up for success in the creative economy.
This initiative, led by Assistant Vice President for Career Development Gretchen Heaton, envisions career preparation as part of the curriculum, rather than an optional service students can access. It also advances the goals of Extraordinary Emerson 2030 by making career readiness, experiential learning, and internships central to each student’s Emerson education.
Every undergraduate will participate in a four-year pathway that includes career education embedded in coursework, strengths assessment, experiential learning, and professional networking. This “career ecosystem” is designed for the realities of today’s creative economy, where careers tend to be project-based and built through relationships rather than traditional recruiting.
Responsibility for career preparation will be shared by faculty, career development professionals, alumni, employers, peer mentors, and academic departments, all of whom will work to help students develop professional skills, build networks, gain hands-on experience, and connect what they learn in the classroom to what’s happening in their chosen fields. Additionally, the College will strengthen partnerships with employers in key creative markets, centralize and enhance internships and work-based learning, and deepen connections between students and potential employers, alumni, and professional opportunities.
This commitment to career readiness will extend beyond a student’s undergraduate years. For the first five years post-commencement — when career support can have the greatest long-term impact — graduates will have access to intensive coaching, networking, and professional development.