BSU Works for Success

BSU’s steadfast commitment to student success – which has been Goal One of our strategic plans for nearly a decade – has formed the core of Our Success as an institution. We’ve initiated BSU Works, which bolsters students in their post-graduation career success by providing internships, career guidance, apprenticeships, and mentoring while, simultaneously investing in the liberal arts as the core to develop student aptitudes and adaptability demanded by employers.

Our Career Services and Internship Program, with generous support from the BSU Foundation, external employers, and numerous private and state grants, has dramatically expanded the number of paid internships provided to our students.

In 2013, nine students received $39,000 for paid internships. In the past 10 years, 4,693 students have been provided with internship stipends totaling $6.5 million.

This stunning growth has created boundless opportunities for our students, a large majority of which continue to live and work in the state after graduating from BSU, as they enhance their skills and qualifications for future jobs while discovering the work they love.

Increasing learning and connectivity are the goals of professional apprenticeships and career-based mentorships. As apprentices, students learn directly from professionals in BSU’s Division of Information Technology in a range of fields including information security analysis, instructional design, and technical support, while mentorships engage our alumni to assist students in their academic and career journeys.

With the implementation of Life Design, all students stand to better align their academic program with their career and life goals. Based off a concept developed at Stanford University, the initiative helps students think through decisions to overcome obstacles in choosing a career. BSU’s Life Design takes place in several ways including required programming for first-year students, two-day studios, and a one-credit class.

Our external partnerships

Our connections with external partners in the private, nonprofit, and public sectors have grown exponentially. These open pathways for students such as those in the Master of Social Work program, thanks to a grant from Massachusetts General Hospital Brigham. Additionally, a major grant from the Department of Mental Health provides paid internships to both undergraduate and graduate students majoring in social work, counselor education, and psychology.

Meanwhile, our partnership with MassBioEd, an arm of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, has created pathways for students to local life science companies. And with the support and encouragement of CyberTrust Massachusetts, BSU leveraged more than $3 million in federal and state funding to make our cyber range and cyber security programs a reality.

The Ricciardi College of Business is where hands-on learning, innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit spurred by our external connections converge to provide a 360-degree learning experience. Many of our business majors spend time in a Bloomberg classroom, participate in two student-managed investment funds that were seeded by generous donors, and through the Bear BID Competition, pitch and vie for funding for new business ideas.

We also renamed the College of Education and Health Sciences to emphasize career pathways to a major sector of the commonwealth’s economy. Our health science majors combined have come to represent the fourth largest area of study for incoming first-year students.

Our movement to succeed begins early as BSU connects with high schools throughout the region through the Early College program to expand the college-attending culture by allowing high school students who may not have previously considered higher education to take college courses while in high school to increase their likelihood of enrolling after graduation. College classes and textbooks are free of charge to the students because they are part of the courses offered by the high school taught by BSU faculty.