Student and Post-Graduate Development

Beginning early in your F&M experience, OSPGD will guide you in designing a portfolio of experiences that will help you discover and focus your talents, interests and post-graduate aspirations. Students at other institutions typically don’t begin this self-reflection on the path after college until the spring of their senior year. 

Our signature programs for your first year include: 

• “Authentic Success & Possibility in Reach for Every Student (ASPIRE)”, a first-year program designed to set you up for success early at F&M
• “Understanding and Leveraging Your Strengths and Preferences” workshop
• Career exploration, leadership and mentorship 
• F&M’s True Blue Network, a career network platform exclusive to our community

A key element of F&M’s liberal arts model encourages you to explore a variety of courses and disciplines before choosing a major. After this 1.5-year exploration, you will declare a major (or two!) in your chosen field of study. OSPGD will guide you through every step of this important decision. Through programming and advising, you’ll learn how our diverse majors prepare you to compete for opportunities in a broad range of fields, empowering you to declare a major in fields that excite and engage you.

Our signature programs for your sophomore year include: 

• An academic fair where you can learn more about and meet faculty from academic departments on campus
• “Not a Major Decision” individual and group sessions to support you in the period leading up to and following major declaration
• “Living Beyond F&M Series” consisting of sessions on financial literacy, public speaking, the etiquette of the business meal, and more
• F&M’s True Blue Network, a career network platform exclusive to our community

As you begin the “second half” of your F&M experience, your vision for life after college becomes less theoretical and more concrete. OSPGD will help you plan by mapping out more specific goals for life after graduation. You’ll develop a list of roles, companies, or schools you’re interested in pursuing; prepare for interviews and standardized tests; update and refine your resume and cover letters; and explore summer experiences that will provide you with hands-on experiences in fields of interest.

Our signature programs for your junior year include: 

• “Life After College Success,” a one-semester cohort-based program specifically designed for juniors to prepare them for success in their lives and careers
• LinkedIn, networking, and resume workshops
• “Designing a Future” course
• “Living Beyond F&M Series” consisting of sessions on financial literacy, public speaking, the etiquette of the business meal, and more
• Job, internship, and summer experience fairs
• F&M’s True Blue Network, a career network platform exclusive to our community

You will graduate from F&M prepared to launch the first of many careers you can pursue with an F&M education, and to excel at top-level graduate and professional schools. OSPGD helps you articulate — via your resume or vitae and application materials, and online via your LinkedIn and social media brand — your abilities to think critically, communicate clearly, and lead confidently. With the help of our mentors, you will enter the next stage of life after F&M ready to self-advocate, embrace your unique experiences and value, and seize the opportunities that call to you.

Our signature programs for your senior year include: 

• “Living Beyond F&M: Negotiating & Understanding Compensation Packages” and “Living Beyond F&M: Financing Your Future” workshops
• On-campus and virtual employer visits
• Night of Networking
• “Designing a Future” course
• “Living Beyond F&M Series” consisting of sessions on financial literacy, public speaking, the etiquette of the business meal, and more
• Job and internship fairs
• F&M’s True Blue Network, a career network platform exclusive to our community

Whether you’re months, years or decades beyond your time on campus, you can trust that OSPGD is here to support you. If you’re securing your first job, applying to graduate school, taking the next step in your career, or contemplating a career change, you can enjoy the same professional support you received as a student through OSPGD’s alumni advising team. 

Our signature programs and services for alumni include: 

• Graduate and professional school application guidance
• Alumni master class programs
• Ongoing professional advising
• F&M’s True Blue Network, a career network platform exclusive to our community

Are you ready to follow a career path right out of college? Or do you prefer to pursue an advanced degree? Whatever you choose, our team of advisers has you covered. You’ll be connected with your primary OSPGD adviser based on your College House. Your adviser will work with you one-on-one to help you build your trajectory of success. They will help you explore your career options by talking through your strengths, passions, and goals; work with you to develop a customized goal-oriented plan; help you discover and land professional development experiences; perfect your application materials and social media brand; and more.

“By meeting with my OSPGD adviser, I gained clarity on the type of opportunities I wanted to pursue and developed a plan that outlined the steps I needed to take. It is in no small part due to the work I did with OSPGD that I am in a great position after graduating from F&M.”

— Robert Litsky ’22

OSPGD offers innovative and engaging programs on life skills such as personal finance, public speaking, leadership development and more, and delivers a variety of career-related events to introduce you to a breadth of post-graduate options.

You can choose from more than 200 programs per year. Our most popular events include: 

• “Authentic Success & Possibility in Reach for Every Student (ASPIRE)”, a first-year program designed to set students up for success early at F&M. 
• “Not a Major Decision” workshops and academic fair designed to help sophomores in their major declaration
• Leadership seminars
• “Living Beyond F&M Series” consisting of sessions on financial literacy, public speaking, the etiquette of the business meal, and more
• Night of Networking
• “Designing Your Future” course
• Job & Internship Fair
• Senior Boot Camp

Your time at F&M was a transformational experience that helped to forge the path you are on today — a path that can often pivot in ways you don’t expect. Regardless of when you graduate, you can turn to OSPGD for free advising, professional development, networking opportunities and programs.

Get valuable hands-on experience now and gain a competitive advantage in the job market later. OSPGD will help you gain exposure in your field by directing you to extraordinary opportunities to learn while doing. These experiences can range from research — on- or off-campus — volunteer opportunities, on-the-job shadowing, internships, and more.

Internships allow you to explore fields and job functions of interest, building your portfolio while shaping and inspiring your path. OSPGD will help you discover and land these positions, guiding you through the internship search, application, and interview processes, and facilitating connections with F&M alumni, parents and friends of the College for potential opportunities.

“Before consulting OSPGD’s student services, I felt overwhelmed about all that I needed to do to secure a summer internship. Working with the OSPGD staff made the search for internships more approachable and eased my fears about the application process.”

— Julia Kait ’23

When you enroll at F&M, you become part of the F&Mily: a network of tens of thousands of alumni, families and friends of the College. The True Blue Network — a career network platform exclusive to our community — is a powerful resource connecting thousands members of the F&Mily who consistently raise their hands to recruit, mentor, refer and guide Diplomats during and beyond their time at F&M. Here, you can connect with alumni and parents who have volunteered to support student success beyond the classroom, including internship and career opportunities.

Careers in healthcare are becoming increasingly important and highly sought after. If you're considering a career in healthcare, you'll find unrivaled support in our Health Professions Advising. We offer training resources, advising, and support for students aspiring to attend dental, medical, and veterinary school.

Pre-Dental Advising

Do you want to make a difference in people’s lives by improving their oral hygiene and health? By engaging in F&M’s pre-dental program, you can set yourself up for a successful career in dentistry now. 

Learn more about pre-dental at F&M

Pre-Health Advising

Whether you’re considering a career as a physician assistant, physical therapist, pharmacist, optometrist, or other emerging field, you’ll find the support you need in F&M’s pre-health program.

Learn more about pre-health at F&M

Pre-Medical Advising

Begin your career in an essential, effective, and rewarding field. By engaging in F&M’s pre-medical program, you’ll find all the guidance and support you need to build a sturdy foundation for a successful future in medicine. 

Learn more about pre-med at F&M

Pre-Veterinary Advising 

F&M’s pre-veterinary program has a legacy of preparing students for successful careers in veterinary medicine, empowering you to provide compassionate care to your animal patients while cultivating strong relationships with the animals’ owners. 

Learn more about pre-vet at F&M

Are you considering a career in law? Our pre-law program — offered as a supplement to your chosen major — will help you develop the skills and experiences you need to be a competitive applicant to the nation’s top law schools.

In our ever-changing world, careers in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) are in high demand. If you’re interested in a career in one of these fast-growing industries, you’ll find individualized support and guidance from OSPGD. 

If you’re considering a career in engineering, you can engage in our dual degree program in addition to receiving specialized advising from OSPGD. By the time you complete the program, you will hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in the major of your choice from F&M, as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in an engineering discipline of your choice from one of our four partner institutions:

• Case Western Reserve University’s Case School of Engineering
• Columbia University’s Fu Foundation School of Engineering & Applied Science
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s School of Engineering
• Washington University’s McKelvey School of Engineering

Each year, more than 1,000 of our 2,200 students seek on-campus employment in a wide variety of positions. These positions are more than just jobs; they are opportunities to build relationships and communication skills while developing your toolkit for careers after F&M. 

If you’re enrolled in at least three credits per semester (a full-time course load), you are eligible for on-campus employment. If you are awarded Federal Work Study or College Work Option in your financial aid package, you are given priority status as an aided student and are eligible to apply for any position on campus. If you’re not work-aided, you are still eligible to work on campus, but will have a limited number of positions available to you. F&M’s Student Employment Office (SEO) will guide you through the position search and hiring process, and match you with positions where you will learn valuable, transferable skills that will benefit you both at F&M and beyond.