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The Schroeder Center for Career Development (Career Services)
Career Services assists students with all aspects of career exploration and preparation. Our goal is to ensure that all students are successful in graduate and professional school and the world of work, and are as focused as possible in their goals. We directly work with students from freshman to senior year, and we serve alunmi as well. Our services include individual career choice counseling, resume/cover letter assistance, job and internship search technique assistance, alumni networking events, on and off campus career fairs, organizational/graduate school site visits, on-campus recruiting, graduate school test and application prep, mock interviews, workshops/seminars/panels/speakers, job and internship listings, an online student/alumni networking system, targeted resume books, peer career advisors, and a variety of online resources. Our office houses an extensive career library and a suit room with professional clothing students may check out.
For faculty, we are available to speak with classes and student or academic groups, and would be happy to "sub" for classes in your absence.
Preparation for Business
Business Sequence
Students interested in business should be aware that a high-quality liberal arts education provides excellent preparation for the business world. For those students who wish to incorporate into their academic program some specific preparation for a career in business, Wabash offers the Business Sequence, a collection of courses selected for their relevance to business. These courses consist of the following:
Economics 101 Principles of Economics (1 credit, offered every semester)
Economics 251 The Economic Approach with Microsoft Excel (1/2 credit, offered every semester)
Economics 262 Financial Institutions and Markets (1 credit, offered spring semester)
Accounting 201 Financial Accounting (1 credit, offered fall semester)
Accounting 202 Managerial Accounting (1 credit, offered spring semester)
English 411 Business and Technical Writing (1 credit, offered spring semester, juniors and seniors only)
Please note that the Business Sequence does NOT substitute for a minor. As such, students should consider using two of the Economics courses and the English course to fulfill distribution requirements in Behavioral Science and Language Studies, respectively, or pursuing a minor in Economics.
Timing: Students should consider taking Economics 101 during the freshman or sophomore year, though this is not essential. Accounting should ideally be taken in the sophomore year in order to open up a wider array of internship possibilities and free up the junior year for overseas study opportunities. Should a course in the Business Sequence not be available, the student may petition the Business Committee to substitute a relevant course. However, students should be aware that any business courses other than the two accounting courses offered at Wabash will not be recognized by the Registrar as counting toward graduation requirements.
Certification on Transcript: Students who complete this sequence will be certified by the Registrar upon graduation. This certification will appear on the student’s transcript upon graduation and may be included as an academic item on the student’s resumé.
In addition to the Business Sequence, Wabash offers other types of programs and services designed to support students interested in business, including internships and co-curricular programs. Students interested in business should contact both the Business Committee Chair and the Schroeder Career Center early in their college careers so that they may be included in mailings about special events and programs.
Pre-Professional Preparation in the Health and Allied Sciences
The Pre-Health Professions Committee assists students with their pre-health programs, including preparation for medical, dental, optometry, veterinary, osteopathic, and podiatry schools and other health professions. The committee also provides assistance with application materials and makes recommendations for students as they apply to professional schools. Any student who is considering the health professions should meet with the committee’s faculty chair or with Jill Rogers (rogersji@wabash.edu) the Pre-Health Advisor as early as possible to discuss his plans.
Pre-Law Preparation
The Pre-Law Committee works in close conjunction with the Pre-Law Society in sponsoring programs which enable students to familiarize themselves with the diverse opportunities available in the practice of law. These programs include a Moot Court competition with alumni attorneys serving as tutors and judges, an LSAT practice test, and trips to visit Indiana Law Schools. Members of the Pre-Law Committee also meet with students, mainly during their senior year, to discuss their plans for attendance at law school. Any student who is considering the study of law might be well advised to discuss his plans with one of the members of the Pre-Law Committee.
Preparation for Secondary Teaching
The Chair and the Director of Teacher Education, in cooperation with academic departments, provides guidance and course work for students wishing to fulfill the licensing requirements to teach in the high school level in Indiana and over 40 other states. If a student begins the Teacher Education Program no later than the first semester of the sophomore year, he can usually fulfill the requirements for the degree and licensing by the end of the senior year. The Program is accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), and as reported for the most recent year for Title II requirements, candidates have a 100% pass rate on state-required Praxis I tests.
(Note: Wabash College is approved to recommend for licensing adolescent and young adult (high school) teachers in the following subjects: Biology, Chemistry, English (with Rhetoric), French, German, Latin, Mathematics, Physics, Spanish, Theater, the latter being a license under Fine Arts, and Social Studies. History, Economics, Political Science, and Psychology majors are licensed under the Social Studies program. Candidates in foreign language are also licensed in the early adolescence, generalist area (middle school). Please see the Teacher Education Program web site for more details.
Pre-Engineering Preparation
Wabash College offers joint programs (known as “3-2” programs) with Columbia University and Washington University-St. Louis. In these programs, students may study the liberal arts at Wabash for three years and engineering or applied science at Columbia or Washington for two years. These five-year programs lead to both the Bachelor of Arts degree from Wabash and the Bachelor of Science degree in engineering or applied science from Columbia or Washington.
Wabash students who participate in the joint program may qualify for the A.B. degree by completing all of the Wabash requirements for graduation (listed in the curriculum section) other than the 34-course minimum, and by successfully completing the appropriate number of courses at Columbia or Washington. Senior comprehensive and oral examinations may be taken during the junior year or during the first year of work at the engineering school, either on the Wabash campus or, under a program approved by the Wabash faculty, at the engineering school administered under supervision of the dean’s office of the School of Engineering. If the oral exam is taken after the junior year, it must be taken on the Wabash campus sometime during the two years of engineering school.
Students not completing the requirements for the Wabash A.B. as outlined above may be accepted at the end of their junior year by Columbia or Washington upon the recommendation of Wabash, even though no Wabash degree is granted.
In addition to the requirements for Wabash, certain courses in physics, chemistry, mathematics, and computer science must be taken at Wabash for admission into Columbia or Washington. The exact requirements for the two schools differ somewhat, and the student should consult with his advisor and a member of the Pre-Engineering Committee. Completing the requirements for both degrees requires careful planning, and the student should begin taking the appropriate courses in his freshman year.
Students need not major in physics, chemistry, or mathematics to participate in the program. In particular, both Columbia and Washington seek out applicants who major in non-technical fields, feeling that the technical depth of an engineering degree and the breadth of a liberal arts degree make a valuable combination.
In addition, a student finishing Wabash with a strong background in science and mathematics can be admitted to a number of engineering programs, not necessarily at Columbia or Washington. Many Wabash graduates have pursued engineering degrees without participating in the 3-2 program.