Post-Graduate Survey
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An accounting graduate, Daniel is working as an accountant with ConocoPhillips in Bartlesville, OK. -
Jordan graduated in December 2011 with a degree in English, Spanish and Feminist Studies. She earned a full-tuition scholarship plus stipend to pursue a PhD at Emory University in Atlanta, GA, in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies.
About the Survey
Each year Career Services surveys new graduates about their post-graduation pursuits to learn whether they have secured employment, have been admitted to graduate school, are volunteering or are in process of pursuing one of these goals.
Data collection begins in April prior to May Commencement and continues through the following February, usually resulting in a 95-99 percent response rate. Surveys are emailed to graduating seniors in April, hard copies of surveys are collected at Commencement in May, follow-up emails are sent in October, Phonathon calling takes place in November and February and continued phone calls and emails round out the data collection in early March.
The resultant aggregated data includes information about percentage working or going to school, locations, a sampling of employers and graduate programs, salaries, and internship information. For questions or more detailed information please contact career.services@southwestern.edu.
Downloadable archived data is available from the links below, followed by highlights for the most recent class. For each class from 2000 through 2007 the class comprises graduates from August, December and May. For 2008 the class comprises graduates from August 2007, December 2007, May 2008 and August 2008. From 2009 forward the class includes December, May and August graduates.
Class of 2012
Class of 2011
Class of 2010
Class of 2009
Class of 2008
Class of 2007
Class of 2006
Class of 2005
Class of 2004
Class of 2003
Class of 2002
Class of 2001
Class of 2000
To take the Survey
The Class of 2013 (December 2012, May 2013, August 2013) survey takes place from April 2013 to March 2014. To complete the survey, please click here to download and return responses via email to afca@southwestern.edu or fax to 512.863.1270.
Where is the Class of 2012 now?
Responses for entire class
The Class of 2012 comprises 284 graduates from December 2011, May 2012 and August 2012. Career Services obtained responses from 278 (98 percent of the class).
65.1 % Employed
25.9 % Graduate / professional school or advanced coursework
9.0 % Other (seeking, volunteering, etc.)
Responses by school / division
The 46 graduates who earned two or more majors were tallied in each major for a look at responses by major and corresponding school/division. Percentages may not total 100 due to rounding:
Brown College of Arts and Sciences
Division of Humanities
60.0 % Employed
30.6 % Graduate/Professional School or Advanced Coursework
9.4 % Other
Division of Natural Sciences
49.2 % Employed
45.9 % Graduate/Professional School or Advanced Coursework
4.9 % Other
Division of Social Sciences
70.0 % Employed
21.5 % Graduate/Professional School or Advanced Coursework
8.5 % Other
Sarofim School of Fine Arts
65.4 % Employed
23.1 % Graduate/Professional School or Advanced Coursework
11.5 % Other
Independent / Interdisciplinary majors
78.3 % Employed
17.4 % Graduate/Professional School or Advanced Coursework
4.3 % Other
Employment
How did they locate positions?
For employed graduates who reported the method by which they secured positions:
28 % Directly contacted organizations
23 % Other Networking
19 % Internet
9 % Career-related experience/internship
7 % Other (e.g. self-employed, family business)
5 % Career Services
3 % SU Professor
2 % Alumnus/a
2 % Employment Agency
1 % Career Fair
Where are they working?
82 % Texas
13 % 19 other states, including:
1 % Alabama
1 % Georgia
1 % Missouri
1 % New York
1 % Wisconsin
5 % Internationally (Austria, Cambodia, Chile, China, France, Germany, Peru, South Korea)
When did they begin their search?
Graduates employed or seeking employment who responded about their job search process reported beginning:
24 % Before senior year
22 % Falls semester of senior year
25 % Beginning of spring of senior year
18 % End of spring of senior year
11 % After graduation
What do they earn?
Respondents working full-time who reported annual salaries earn:
55 % less than $30,000
39 % $30,000 to $50,000
6 % more than $50,000
Since a liberal arts education prepares students broadly for many kinds of work, majors do not typically correlate directly with specific job titles. Instead, employed graduates evaluated their satisfaction with their outcomes, and how well their outcomes match their expectations and meet their interests. Those who reported on these questions stated:
Is the work in their field of interest?
57 % Completely
30 % Somewhat
13 % Not at all
How satisfied are they with their outcome?
51 % Very happy
35 % Satisfied
12 % Slightly unsatisfied
2 % Completely unsatisfied
How well does their outcome match their expectations?
35 % Meets expectations
33 % Close to meeting expectations
30 % Does not match but is happy
2 % Does not match and is unhappy
Selected organizations and positions
Alta Mesa Services, LP, Drilling Engineer
Austin Chamber of Commerce, Director of Business Retention & Expansion
Austin Shakespeare, Actor
Banfield Pet Hospital, Veterinary Technician
BestGrips.com, Accountant
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas, Match Support Specialist
Blackbeard Data Services, Consultant
BMC Software, Data Analyst
BSD Consulting Inc., Account Manager
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Public Health Associate
Cerilliant Corporation, Synthesis Laboratory Technician
Child Advocates, Inc., Community Outreach Team Assistant
Coca Cola, Account Manager
Communities in Schools (via AmeriCorps), Tutor/Mentor
ConocoPhillips, Accountant
Corpus Christi ISD, 6th Grade Language Arts Teacher
Edward Jones, Financial Advisor Trainee
Electronic Arts, Business Analyst, Level 1
English First (China), English Teacher
Epic, Project Manager
Fair Share Alliance, Assistant Campaign Director
Fidelity Investments, Financial Representative
FosterQuan, LLP, Legal Assistant
French Ministry of Education, English Teaching Assistant
Front Point Security, Director of Business Development
Fulbright US Student Program, English Teaching Assistant
First United Methodist Church Georgetown, Junior High Youth Director
GHG Corporation, Software Engineer
Goodwill Industries of Central Texas, Job Trainer and Coordinator
Houston Museum of Fine Arts, Collections Docent
Killeen ISD, Middle School Theatre Teacher
LegalZoom, Sales Specialist
Literacy Council of Williamson County (via AmeriCorps), Outreach Coordinator
MediMobile, Marketing Specialist
NALCO Energy Services, Business Solutions Analyst
National Instruments, Global Database Marketing Coordinator
Plano ISD, Special Education Teacher
Quest Diagnostics, Forensic Scientist
Rudd and Wisdom, Inc., Actuarial Analyst
Samsung, Senior Associate
Southwestern University, Program Coordinator
Teach For America, Secondary Social Studies Teacher
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, Child Protection Specialist
Texas Hospital Association, Meeting Planner
Webvega, SEO Specialist
WhaleShark Media, Inc., Merchandising Coordinator
World Financial Group, Associate
Graduate / Professional School and Advanced Coursework
What kind of programs are they pursuing?
54 % Graduate school (e.g. Master of Arts, PhD, etc.)
15 % Medical School (MD, DO)
13 % Law School
11 % Advanced coursework (e.g. teacher or EMT certification, grad school pre-requisites, second Bachelor’s)
6 % Other professional school (e.g. DDS, OD, DVM, etc.)
1 % Theological school
Where are they studying?
65 % Texas
32 % 14 other U.S. states
Two students studied internationally in England and Scotland.
Selected institutions and programs of study
Auburn University, PhD in Counseling Psychology
Baylor School of Law, JD
Emory University, PhD in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Kent State University, DPM
Oklahoma City University, MM in Musical Theater
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, MS in Library and Information Science
Savannah College of Art and Design, MFA in Painting
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, MDiv
Southern Methodist University, PhD in Theoretical High-Energy Physics
St. Andrew’s University, Master of Letters in Women, Writing and Gender
St. John’s College, MA in Eastern Classics
Syracuse University College of Law, JD
Texas A&M University, MS in Civil Engineering
Texas Christian University, MS in Conservation Biology
University of Chicago, MA in Social Work
University of Houston, OD
University of Kansas, MS in Bioengineering
University of Pittsburgh, PhD in Cultural and Critical Studies in English
University of Texas at Austin, Master of Public Affairs
University of Texas at Austin School of Law, JD
University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, Master of Occupational Therapy
University of Texas Medical Branch, MD
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, MD
University of Washington, PhD in Astrobiology
Yeshiva University Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, JD
Internships
Total internships:
Fifty-seven percent of the Class of 2012 ( 60 percent of survey respondents) reported completing at least one internship experience. Twenty-five percent of the class (27 percent of respondents) reported having two or more internships. Those respondents reported on their internship experiences:
1.5 % 5
1.1 % 4
7.7 % 3
16.2 % 2
33.5 % 1
40.1 % 0
Number of internship for academic credit (for those reporting about academic internships):
19.3 % 2 or more internships
80.7 % 1 internship
Number of internships for experience only (for those reporting about experience-only internships):
39.5 % 2 or more internships
60.5 % 1 internship
Pay for internships:
25 % Paid
53 % Unpaid
22 % Both (for graduates with more than one experience: some paid, some unpaid)
Helpfulness of internships:
61 % Very helpful
32 % Somewhat helpful
8 % Not helpful
Evaluation
In addition to the evaluation of satisfaction with their outcome and the closeness of the match between their outcome and their expectations, graduates reported on their satisfaction with their interaction with Career Services as well as their overall satisfaction with their Southwestern University education.
Satisfaction with Career Services
Graduates reported their responses to the question, “How satisfied are you with Career Services regarding guidance provided for securing your job/grad school acceptance?” Interactions with Career Services can include individual advising appointments, participation in group workshops/events, utilizing the resource library, etc. More detailed evaluations of each of these components are available through Career Services. Of students who reported using Career Services, respondents were:
40 % Very happy
50 % Satisfied
9 % Slightly unsatisfied
1 % Completely unsatisfied
Satisfaction with Southwestern
Graduates reported their responses to the question, “Based on your SU experience, how satisfied are you with your preparation for your [intended] job/graduate school program?” Of students who answered this question, respondents were:
47 % Very happy
43 % Satisfied
7 % Slightly unsatisfied
2 % Completely unsatisfied
