Spotlight for Career Services Professionals

Major, and to a lesser extent, gender, race/ethnicity, and GPA, had an effect on the post-graduation plans of bachelor’s degree graduates, according to results of NACE’s Class of 2016 Student Survey.

Highlights from the survey that illustrate the impact these factors had on post-graduation plans include:

• The majors most drawn to entering the work force following graduation included computer science, protective services, marketing, finance, engineering technology, engineering, business, communication, and education.
• Those most interested in pursuing an advanced degree included psychology, physical sciences, biology, social sciences, pre-law, and public administration/social services.
• The majors most likely to plan on taking time off included foreign language, visual and performing arts, environmental science, and communication.
• Women were more likely than men to aspire to pursue an advanced degree, while men were more likely to plan to enter the work force.
• Interest in continuing education was more common among African-Americans than among other ethnic/racial groups. Meanwhile, Hispanic-American graduates were most interested in entering the work force.
• Not surprisingly, interest in pursuing an advanced degree rose along with GPA; conversely, plans to enter the work force decreased with higher GPAs.

NACE’s Class of 2016 Student Survey was conducted February 16 – April 30, 2016; more than 23,000 students at colleges and universities nationwide took part, including 5,600 graduating seniors. The survey report will be available in September.