Only 1.3% of last year’s graduating class in the College of Arts & Sciences graduated without a job offer or graduate school admission, according to Jen Maclaughlin, director of A&S Career Development.
Some highlights of last year’s post-graduate survey include:
- 83% of graduates are included in the survey.
- 66.6% are employed, 28.8% are attending graduate school, 1.3% are seeking employment and 3.3% are pursuing other endeavors.
- Tech and financial services remain the top employment sectors for A&S graduates, with 44% entering those fields; 10 percent of students have jobs in the consulting or professional practice sector, while another 9 percent are in healthcare fields.
- For students pursuing graduate school, computer science remains the top graduate area field, with 21% pursuing that field. Engineering is next with 9 percent, followed by law, business and biological and life sciences. Many students who attend medical school or law school after graduation choose to take a gap year or two between undergrad and graduate school, so these numbers don’t reflect true medical/law school attendance, Maclaughlin said.
Maclaughlin said even in a year of economic uncertainty, A&S graduates were able to find positions. “Even though some of the largest employers cut back on hiring, our students were able to find opportunities, showing that the skills our students gain through their A&S education appeal to a wide variety of businesses and organizations.”
Career Development events and services are a key factor helping students connect to these opportunities after graduation, Maclaughlin said, adding that the university started offering in-person career fairs again in 2024 and one-on-one sessions with career advisors can help students work on their goals and take tangible steps to get there.
The College has also expanded its online Career Development Toolkit and related resources, she said. A new addition this past year was Big Resume, which uses AI to help students tailor their resumes to job descriptions.
First-year advising seminars, which all A&S students take, also include a segment on career planning. “They’re introduced to career development and our robust programming early in their Cornell careers,” Maclaughlin said.
Maclaughlin encouraged seniors who are still looking for positions to attend the All-Ivy+ Just-In-Time Virtual Job & Internship Fair on April 9, from 1-4 p.m. The fair connects students to employers who have jobs and internships available right now, she said. More information is available on Handshake.
And A&S seniors are also invited to the A&S Career Development Senior Celebrations on April 23 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Klarman Atrium and on April 29 and April 30, from noon-2 p.m. in the A&S Career Development Office, 172 Goldwin Smith Hall.
There will be goodies, stickers, raffle prizes and photo booth signs to help students celebrate their next steps. Seniors who already know their plans for after graduation are encouraged to fill out the 2026 post-grad survey, which includes graduates from December 2025 and May and August 2026.
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