Parents, Families, and Champions Services

The Career Development Center at Worcester State University supports the career development of undergraduate, graduate, and recent alumni. As parents, family members, or champions, you are vital partners in helping students identify their career interests and goals. Browse our website to learn more about our services and resources and ways that you can support students and recent alums’ with their career exploration, preparation for the workforce, finding internships or job opportunities, or pursuing graduate or professional school.

Our career team is available to meet with students and recent graduates for 30 to 60-minute meetings to discuss topics ranging from exploring career interests, creating a resume/writing a cover letter, internships and job searching, interview preparation, graduate school, and more. Encourage your student or alum to schedule an appointment via Handshake or by contacting the office at cdc@worcester.edu or 508-929-8941. We look forward to meeting!
The Career Development Center has a variety of resources including the following that your student can utilize for their major/career exploration. Talk with your student about these resources and encourage them to visit the Career Development Center on the 3rd floor of the Student Center to speak with a career advisor or to inquire further about the services and resources available.
What Can I do with this major? will help students connect majors to careers. Whether they are exploring multiple majors or searching for information about specific fields of interest, this site will help your student with their career exploration.
STRONG Interest Inventory: The Strong Interest Inventory assessment provides insight into a person’s interests, and areas for exploration to consider potential careers and majors. Once the assessment is completed online, an appointment will be scheduled with an advisor to go over your results. Students can reach out to the Career Development Center at careerservices@worcester.edu if they are interested in utilizing this career assessment tool.
Encourage your student to take advantage of these resources focused on supporting students throughout their career exploration and internship/job search process.
Handshake is our online recruiting portal. Students can use Handshake to apply for internships and full-time opportunities with companies interested in hiring Worcester State students. In Handshake students can also find our resource guides, sign up for career-related virtual and in-person events, and schedule appointments with our career advisors. All students have a Handshake account. To access their account, they should log in using their Worcester State email address and set up their profile.
The Washington Center Academic Internship Program: Worcester State University has long participated in The Washington Center (TWC) Academic Internship Program to gain valuable career-building experiences and advance their studies. Students who participate in the program gain career-building skills and experience in their internship placements. TWC provides an excellent living and learning environment for participants from around the country and throughout the world.

TWC interns:
Live in conveniently located housing
Work at their internship sites 32 hours a week
Take a course of their choice taught by faculty members who are industry experts
Participate in weekly career readiness programming
Credits
Students can earn up to 12 Worcester State University credit hours that usually go toward the student’s major.
Cost and Financial Aid
Various types of financial support packages exist for students, inclusive of TWC and Worcester State scholarships when available and dependent on grade point average/residency.
Massachusetts residents with a 3.0 cumulative GPA or higher are automatically considered for limited $6,500 state scholarships ($1,300 contingent on use of TWC housing). No additional application is required, and scholarships are first come, first served for the fall, spring, and summer programs.
Students who are interested in applying should contact Michelle Kaelin at mkaelin@worcester.edu to schedule an appointment. If you are interested in learning more about the TWC internship program don’t wait and schedule your appointment. Students will want to make sure to have enough time to meet with various campus partners including financial aid, and their department chair, and complete their application before the application deadline.
Resume Guide
Writing a Cover Letter
Internship/Job Search Resource Guide
Preparing for a Career Fair
Evaluating Job Offers
Graduate School Resource Guide
Informational Interviewing
Interviewing Guide
Networking Guide
LinkedIn Resource Guide
Earning Academic Credit for Internship
Big Interview: With over 1 million users, Big Interview is the #1 job interview training platform. Students can utilize this resource for step-by-step job/internship interview preparation to help them successfully navigate future interviews.
Career Closet: The Worcester State University Career Closet provides students access to new and gently used professional attire for interviews, career fairs, networking events, and the workplace. To utilize the Career Closet, students can stop by the office between the hours of 9am-5pm. No appointment is needed, students can stop by and see one of our Career Development Center team members.