Welcome!
As a graduate student at Boston College, you have already made an important decision regarding your professional development and have taken a major step in your career journey. Whether you are a master’s or doctoral student, you are developing and refining skills and gaining experience that will position you to pursue opportunities in a wide range of industries. The Career Center is here to help you as you continue your journey.
Resources for Graduate Students
What Are Your Career Goals?
We look forward to working with you to help you achieve your goals. Below are three of the most common paths that BC graduate students pursue.
Graduate School
If you are interested in pursuing further graduate study in the arts and sciences, our Graduate School page is a great place to get started. Here, you’ll find important information about admissions criteria, financial aid, standardized tests, and application materials like letters of recommendations, personal statements, and statements of purpose.
Law School
If you’ve determined that law school is your next step, visit our pre-law page for information about researching law schools, the law school application process, the LSAT, and more. Here you can also access the pre-law handbook and schedule an appointment with the pre-law advisor.
Whether you are interested in obtaining an advanced research degree in the arts and sciences or attending a professional school to study law, medicine, education, or business, it is important to research degree programs to find the best fit for your interests and goals. Consider the following:
- Work with faculty in your academic department to identify programs and faculty at other institutions whose research syncs with your interests.
- Consult professional associations to learn more about best practices, degree programs, and career outcomes for graduate students in your field of interest.
- Connect with graduate schools’ admissions offices to learn about student life, unique opportunities, financial aid, and more.
- Network with alumni who’ve pursued graduate degrees of interest to learn about their paths and experience. You can connect with alumni on Eagle Exchange.
- Meet with a career coach in your field of interest to chart your course and review your next steps.
Most graduate programs require a standardized test as part of a completed application. While liberal arts and education graduate programs generally require the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and any corresponding GRE subject tests, professional degree programs in law, business, and medicine require specialized tests. Click the links below to learn more.
Note: If you have already taken the GRE, you may be able to use this score for subsequent graduate school applications: GRE scores are valid for five years after your test date.
The scope and tenor of required application materials will vary depending on the type of graduate program. But, all graduate programs will require some form of admissions essay (like a personal statement or statement of purpose); an updated resume or CV; letters of recommendation; and transcripts. Follow the links below to learn more about these materials:
Meet with a Career Coach
Our career coaches are eager to discuss your plans for further graduate study.
Hiring for academic positions—tenure-track or full-time faculty; lectureships; postdocs—typically begins in the late summer and runs through the following spring. When compared to other industries, the academic hiring process generally requires a greater number of application materials and lasts longer. But, like any hiring process, there are a number of ways to prepare so that you are ready when the time comes to enter the job market:
- Consult professional resources, like Beyond the Professoriate, to learn about best practices for approaching the job market, and Tomorrow’s Professor, to stay on top of key trends in faculty development.
- Engage with your faculty mentors to learn more about discipline-specific career information.
- Seek out opportunities to participate in your department’s hiring process, including interviewing candidates, sitting in on committee meetings, and attending job talks.
- Join your discipline’s professional association to access field-specific information, including hiring trends, salary information, and more.
- Network—attend conferences; organize conference panels and invite panelists from other universities; connect with leading faculty in your field; reach out to graduate alumni on Eagle Exchange.
- Pursue opportunities to diversify your graduate experience beyond research, writing and teaching: participate in service projects; serve on committees; get involved in BC’s broader campus life.
The nature of each academic job application will vary depending on your field, but typically, applications will consist of the following: an updated CV; a cover letter; supplemental statements; a writing sample; and letters of recommendation. Many universities host their applications on dossier services like Interfolio, and it may be useful to register on the platform to organize your application materials. The initial application phase is then typically followed by several rounds of interviews, including phone screens, video interviews, and on-campus job talks, which can be multiple days. Follow the links below from various resources to learn more about these materials:
In addition to discipline-specific job boards that are often housed on professional association websites, there are a number more general academic job boards to seek out tenure-track, full-time, postdoctoral, and other academic positions across disciplines. Key resources include the following:
Academic Jobs Wiki
An aggregator of academic job postings by application year, and includes links and resources for preparing for the job market and accessing international postings.
HigherEdJobs.com
A comprehensive job board for careers in higher education, including academia. Tip: create alerts to receive daily emails of new postings in your areas of interest.
Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (HERC)
HERC is another job board for careers in academia and higher education. HERC also offers webinars on the job market and allows applicants to upload materials for recruiting purposes.
Chronicle of Higher Education Jobs
In addition to a comprehensive job board, Chronicle’s job board includes webinars, career news and advice, and updated salary information.
H-Net Job Guide
A regularly updated job board specifically for tenure-track, full-time, part-time, and postdoctoral positions in the humanities.
Beyond the Professoriate
Beyond the Professoriate helps graduate students leverage their education into meaningful careers. The platform has resources to support graduate students and partners with institutions to help you land jobs in industry, nonprofits, higher education, the private sector, and more.
ImaginePhD
ImaginePhD is a career exploration and planning tool for graduate students in the humanities and social sciences. Here, you’ll find intel on a wide range of careers--both academic and outside the academy--and information about how to develop and advance your skills for a number of industries.
Whether you have a specific industry in mind or are completely unsure about what to do, the Career Center has a number of resources to help you forge your career path. We highly recommend that you schedule an appointment with a career coach to assist you in the exploration process.
Be Career Ready
As a graduate student, you are gaining highly desirable skills that are preparing you to embark on careers in a range of industries. Here, learn about the eight skills areas that employers in all industries will be seeking in the hiring process.
Career Explorer
A resource to help you discover how your interests, skills, personality and goals intersect. Get real-time recommendations on careers and industries to consider. Be sure to meet with a career coach to review your results and to determine next steps.
Vault
Find out what it is like to work within an industry, a company, or a profession. View the Career Guides for up to date information on a variety of careers as well as interviewing strategies and job search tips.
Eagle Exchange
An online platform that fosters connections between BC students and alumni around the world. The platform provides graduate students with the opportunity to seek knowledge and advice, explore industries of interest, and grow your professional network.
Career Clusters
Visit individual cluster pages for industry-specific job and internship resources, including job boards. Join one or multiple career clusters to receive email updates with information and resources related to career fields of interest.
As a graduate student, you bring unique skills and experiences to a range of careers. It’s vital that you communicate these strengths efficiently and effectively when you network with alumni and professionals and prepare your application materials. Follow the links below to learn more about how to optimize these materials.
Meet with a Career Coach
Our career coaches are eager to discuss your interests, experiences, and career goals.
