Boston University Ranks Among Top Colleges for Career Preparation
The professional networking social media platform LinkedIn has named Boston University (BU) to its inaugural list of the top 50 undergraduate institutions that best prepare students for successful careers. BU…
Photo by Jake Belcher/Boston University
The professional networking social media platform LinkedIn has named Boston University (BU) to its inaugural list of the top 50 undergraduate institutions that best prepare students for successful careers. BU ranked No. 43 on the list of colleges.
This recognition follows BU's investments into campus-wide, career-focused programs and resources offered to students through BU's Center for Career Development. The center provides career coaching, digital tools, employer connections, and initiatives such as the Career Ambassador Program, the Professional Clothing Closet, and the Yawkey Nonprofit Internship Program.
Joseph Bizup, associate dean for undergraduate academic programs and policies at BU's College of Arts & Sciences (CAS), explained in a BU news release that the BU Hub is a primary resource for putting students on the pathway to careers. According to Bizup, BU's general education curriculum offers students career-ready experiences that translate into the development of lifelong skills such as communication, creativity, ethical reasoning, and teamwork.
In addition, BU's Experiential Learning Connector (ELC) at the CAS and its inaugural director, Erin Salius, is focused on student success. The ELC helps students participate in hands-on experiential learning, fostering opportunities that they can use to obtain course credit for internships.
To determine its rankings, LinkedIn studied approximately 1,000 regionally accredited four-year undergraduate programs “with the goal of identifying the undergraduate programs that best set their alumni up for long-term career success,” according to a statement by LinkedIn.
LinkedIn's rankings consider several factors:
- Alumni networking
- Employment rates within one year of graduation
- Employer demand
- Internship completion
- Unique fields of study and skills attained by recent alums
Raters used anonymized data from LinkedIn members' profiles to determine how universities' graduating classes from 2019 to 2024 measured up for career readiness.
According to information for BU's Class of 2024, the most recent class for which data are available, 62% had secured full-time jobs by December 2024, while 28% enrolled in graduate or professional school.
