Careers & Outcomes

Success in work and life.

Success after college is directly tied to the decisions and actions you take when you’re there. 

Whether students’ next steps find them charting their career paths, pursuing advanced degrees, conducting fellowship research, or starting their own businesses, their liberal arts background and the Colgate network prepare them for a lifetime of success.

97%
Secured jobs, admission to graduate schools, fellowships and scholarships, military or volunteer service
within nine months based on a 89% knowledge rate of the graduating class
80%
Medical school acceptance rate
compared to the national average of 42%
84%
Law school acceptance rate
compared to the national average of 69%
Students taking notes

Career Services

Colgate’s career team is larger than those of other liberal arts universities, which means you’ll get more individual attention as you explore, prepare, and translate your Colgate education and experience into a lifetime of meaningful work.

Explore our career services

Invaluable Hands-On Experiences

Employers, graduate schools, and professional schools expect candidates to complete at least two professional experiences before they apply during their senior year. This is why we prioritize helping students gain practical, hands-on experience that makes them more competitive.

 

A student presents their business idea

Internships

Career Services advisers, along with professors, help students leverage Colgate’s connections and navigate the entire internship process. Our generous donors provide grant funding to help offset the costs of unpaid or underpaid internship experiences.

Internships

Research

Through assistantships or senior projects, most students engage in original research. These experiences sharpen intellectual growth; strengthen prospects for fellowships, graduate study, and top careers; and often lead to publication or presentation before graduation. 

Research

Fellowships & Scholarships

Fellowships and scholarships can shape careers by opening doors to influential networks, transformative experiences, and financial support. Our Office of National Fellowships and Scholarships guides students in identifying the right opportunities, meeting requirements, and submitting strong applications.

Fellowships and scholarships

Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Colgate cultivates an entrepreneurial mindset. We create opportunities to experiment, invent, and pursue big ideas. Students have access to professional development, seed funding, and a strong alumni network.

Entrepreneurship and innovation

Preparation & Skill Building Programs

Colgate faculty will help navigate the road to graduate school through dedicated pre-professional pathways. Students can build targeted professional skills and a competitive edge through microcredential courses and the Tuck Business Bridge Program.

A healthcare professional alumna speaks with students

Employer Connections

Colgate students connect directly with top employers across industries through more than 200 formal recruiting partners, including Amazon, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Goldman Sachs, Google, Mass General Hospital, National Geographic, NBCUniversal, and Teach For America. These partnerships lead to a student job and internship board with more than 225,000 opportunities each year. 

Colgate Alumni

Colgate’s 35,000 alumni are known for their loyalty, accomplishments, and commitment to student success. As leaders across industries, they provide mentoring, internships, and personal connections tailored to students’ interests.

Career outcomes
Katie Redford strides past a court house
Katie Redford ’90 co-founded EarthRights International and took organizations like the International Finance Corporation and Unocal Oil Company to court, holding them accountable for environmental damage and human rights abuses — she won.
Darien Macfadden
As director of the Center for Counseling and Mental Health at Amherst, Darien McFadden practices clinical work and leads a postgraduate training program that has a multicultural focus.
German DuBois near one of his murals
Through his nonprofit, HOPE Murals, German DuBois III ’91 provides hope and a creative outlet for young people living in high-risk situations.
Liz Rampe
Liz Rampe ’05 is the deputy principal investigator for the chemistry and mineralogy instrument on NASA’s Curiosity rover, which has been exploring Mars since 2012.
Nicole Turner Lee
Nicol Turner Lee’s day-to-day duties at the Brookings Institution have her addressing U.S. and international audiences about digital inclusion; leading Brookings’ efforts to address inherent racial biases in machine-learning algorithms.
Gary Eppich
Gary Eppich uses his expertise hunting for clandestine weapons grade uranium and plutonium to help U.S. allies be the best possible stewards of their own nuclear material.
Students gather outside of Benton Hall

Career Support Early & Often

Career exploration and development are a priority at Colgate. Students are guided and supported by Colgate’s career team in a variety of ways starting as early as their first semester. Start your own path by taking the next step.

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