Career Advisor: Professor Becky Boling
Program faculty are happy to discuss your career plans with you and help you think about your options for graduate schools, jobs, and planning your course of study to meet your career goals. We also receive lots of information from graduate schools and occasionally receive fliers about jobs. We will forward job and internship announcements to you via email. Other materials are available from our Career Advisor, Professor Becky Boling. And, of course, you should make full use of the services provided by the Carleton Career Center.
Educational Resources Group recruits faculty for 640 independent (private) schools throughout the country in the areas of Physics, Math, Chemistry, Computer Science, French and Spanish. Private schools look for people with strong liberal arts backgrounds with either a BA and/or MA in their subject area as well as strong child related experiences and major extra-curricular talents.
Letters of Recommendation
At some point, you will undoubtedly need letters of recommendation from faculty. Whether you are applying for admission to an off-campus study program, a student fellowship, or post-Carleton employment or study, faculty can write better letters in support of your applications if they know you and your work, and if they have adequate lead-time.
Talk to the faculty member from whom you are requesting a recommendation well in advance of the application deadline. Keep in mind that although faculty may know your work in their class(es), they may not know about all of your other academic and non-academic interests and accomplishments. It is very helpful to have a brief résumé that summarizes yours goals and objectives, as well as your employment and educational experience. Include volunteer work, special skills, and any academic (or non-academic) “specialties” that you have developed outside the Program and of which we may not be aware.
Before you graduate, we recommend that you open a file at the Career Center, and ask your faculty referees to put letters on file for you, even if you don’t foresee needing recommendations immediately. We frequently receive requests for letters of recommendation from students who have graduated a year or two or even longer before, and we are happy to oblige. But faculty go on sabbatical, and may not be on campus when you discover that you need a recommendation. It’s best to have the letter on file; it can be replaced with a new one, if necessary.
Conferences and Student Fellowship Opportunities
Carleton offers several fellowships, including Independent Research Fellowships, the Class of 1963 Fellowship and the Larson International Fellowships, that support student travel and research.
The competition for these fellowships is announced each fall by the Provost, and applications are typically due in early February. Spanish majors who wish to undertake independent research in Latin American during the summer are encouraged to consider applying for one of these fellowships.
The college also makes available limited funds to support student travel to conferences or for more limited research during winter break. For these funds, students must submit letters of application to the Associate Provost. Visit the Carleton Student Fellowships page for more information.