Purposeful Work
After four years of exploration, reflection, and testing, Bates graduates students who know how to align who they are with what they do in order to engage in lives of meaningful work. Whether they pursue opportunities in the arts, business, education, government, healthcare, social services, or other industries, they know what it takes to translate their strengths, passions, and interests to improve the world around them.
Center for Purposeful Work
Purposeful Work is a uniquely Bates approach to preparing students for life as conscientious global citizens. Through a four-year developmental arc, we support students as they explore what purposeful work looks like in the classroom, on their athletic teams, while they study abroad, and through their community engagement activities. We encourage individual exploration, support critical thinking, and foster community, thereby graduating students who are ready and prepared to engage with meaningful work in all its varied forms.
Learn more about Purposeful Work at Bates
Job Shadows & Internships
With alumni who are committed to giving back and supporting fellow Bobcats, Purposeful Work leans into the power of the Bates network. Hundreds of alumni support Purposeful Work annually by participating in our job shadow program, offering paid employer partner internships, donating to our competitive internship funding pool, recruiting for internship and full-time roles, and sharing industry wisdom.
Internship Program & Competitive Funding
Graduation Outcomes
With every major at Bates requiring the completion of a senior thesis or a senior capstone experience, students graduate with a strong academic foundation in their chosen disciplines as well as essential skills developed through exposure to the liberal arts curriculum – critical thinking, analysis and argumentation, collaboration and communication.
Learn more about our most recent graduates – what they are doing, where they are going, and how they are engaging in purposeful work post-Bates. From domestic to global opportunities, Bates graduates find success across a wide range of industries. And whether they choose to pursue advanced studies immediately after graduation or several years out, they boast high acceptance rates to top graduate programs.
Research graduate school support