We Work Here
Every Bennington student spends six weeks every year pursuing internships, apprenticeships, entrepreneurial ventures, service projects, and research related to their work and life goals.
According to a survey conducted by The Chronicle of Higher Education and American Public Media’s Marketplace, the single most important credential for a college graduate entering the workforce is internship experience. The survey, which targeted 50,000 employers who recruit and hire recent graduates, also found that demonstrated capacities to think critically, communicate clearly, and solve complex problems are more highly valued than where an applicant studied, what an applicant studied, or even what grades an applicant received.
When employers ask us how it is that undergraduates from a small liberal arts college are going head-to-head and toe-to-toe with seasoned professionals, we credit the Plan and Field Work Term—pillars of a Bennington education from the College's inception. By the time they graduate, Bennington students have acquired at least four jobs or internship experiences and a deep understanding of what they want to do. They are able to navigate challenges, translate abstract ideas into tangibles; they have an uncanny facility for collaboration and communication; and they are comfortable negotiating the known and the unknown.
Below are just a few examples of how students develop their ideas in the classroom, and then test those ideas where it counts—through hands-on work in the world.
Shifting Tracks
At the UK-based startup Trainline, Zanna Huth '20 applied her creative skill set to marketing and data management...and wrote a rap along the way.
The Art of Technology
After a FWT experience at a tech startup, Lili Española ’20 discovered how a business perspective can guide their Bennington studies.
Grad-School Ready
Her summer Research Experience for Undergraduates program equipped first-generation college student Kelsey Broadfield '20 with the skills to pursue a graduate degree in sociology.
Delving Into Urban Studies
As a Creative Placemaking intern at The Trust for Public Land, Roua Sibai '21 explored how public artistic and cultural displays can contribute to a community's overall health.
Liberia, Law, and Life's Work
Bennington’s Plan process—which integrates coursework and FWT experiences—encourages students like Nush Laywhyee '19 to tackle governmental issues from an interdisciplinary perspective.
Ms. Fox Goes to Washington
Elizabeth Fox '20 has used her FWT experiences to explore how the Vermont government works at various levels.
Cooking Up Community
How can food capture what makes a community distinctive? In both her FWT experiences and her Senior Work, Isabella Poulos '18 studies the intersection of food, art, and community.
Finding Focus
How one astronomy student has used Field Work Term to amass more experience than most graduate students.