Let’s Plan, Prep, and Prepare TOGETHER for YOUR Brilliant Future!

Supporting students as they create career and professional development goals and work to accomplish them guides the work of the Professional Development team in the Office for Professional Development in the Ellis Center.

We work closely with the University Career Center to offer our students opportunities to explore careers, experience the world of work and grow into confident young professionals. I’m happy to share our Fall 2026 semester programming highlights with you.

Through professional development in the College, we meet students wherever they are—first-year students exploring potential majors and interests, sophomores developing their skills, juniors creating a plan for more in-depth career discovery and seniors planning their next steps.

Our Undergraduate Peer Career Coaching Program launched two years ago, and I’m thrilled to share that more and more of our students are taking advantage of the opportunity to meet with a well-trained peer coach.

I encourage students to log into Handshake and schedule an appointment at a convenient time to meet with one of our peer coaches who provide resume writing, cover letter writing and other meaningful support.

What Students are Saying About CLAS Peer Career Coaching

“I really enjoyed meeting with my CLAS Peer Career Coach. My coach is a student and thus understands very well what other students are going through. They helped me find a few resources to find these jobs, such as Handshake, LinkedIn and Indeed.”

“[My coach] was very caring and invited me to reach out if I had any concerns or was in need of further assistance.”

Connecting Students to Opportunities: Welcome to Career Connections!

Career Connections is the bridge that links Villanova students with high-quality career education content. “Connections” was built to empower the community to choose, prepare and attain personally rewarding careers. Check out Career Connections.

The Power of Handshake — Democratizing Opportunity

Students are encouraged to log in to their Handshake account to make an appointment with a peer career coach and to access internship and job postings, industry 101 guides and recorded career-focused webinars.   Handshake is a powerful tool that allows students to learn about upcoming employer events, alumni mentoring and networking events, professional skill-building workshops and more. It is a “must” for every student who is thinking about internships and jobs.

Students Can Direct Message Villanova Alumni in Any Industry or Location

More than 12,000 alumni working in a variety of industries and geographical locations—who want to support students on their internship and career journeys—are part of Nova Network. This online platform unites all Villanovans and encourages meaningful connection.  Students can filter alumni by company name, career level, college major and more. They can even direct message alumni to connect for a phone call or video chat. Students also can join our BRIDGE Society group on Nova Network to connect with alumni and even find an alumni mentor.

Check Out Our Fall 2026 Professional Development Courses

One of the best ways CLAS students can explore career opportunities and prepare for the workplace is by enrolling in a one-credit Arts and Sciences Professional Development (ASPD) course.

Our courses range greatly across several disciplines, including courses on Professional Development, Personal Finance, Professional Writing, Data Analysis and Understanding Financial Reporting.

Some of the courses are devoted to exploring and pursuing careers in specific industries, including management consulting, financial services, creative and performing arts, sustainability and more.

Students can search the master course schedule online to find a section that works best for them.

Villanovans supporting Villanovans.

Making decisions about careers can be confusing for students, especially for those liberal arts and sciences students who are undecided about a particular path and open to the many possibilities that exist.

That’s why the BRIDGE Society exists.

The BRIDGE Society in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Villanova University helps students learn about the professions and career paths within them.

How? We unite Villanova alumni and working professionals with students at mentoring and networking events. Our alumni mentor students and share career knowledge with them, all in an effort to help students learn more and grow more confident in their abilities and potential.

We have planned our upcoming mentoring and networking events to help students, and we invite YOU to help our students: