Career Pathways adds to the college’s already robust slate of career supports

Annapolis, Md./Santa Fe, N.M. [February 13, 2025] — St. John’s College, the third-oldest college in the country, with campuses located in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Annapolis, Maryland, today announced the launch of its new Career Pathways program, a comprehensive initiative designed to connect the college’s rigorous Great Books curriculum and discussion-based pedagogy with tangible career opportunities. St. John’s has long bucked norms in higher education by rejecting the narrow majors typical at most colleges. This continues to be the case, and Career Pathways provides students and their families with confidence regarding career outcomes alongside the intellectual depth and disciplinary breadth of a St. John’s education.

“Career Pathways reflects our commitment that Johnnies will leave the college prepared to lead a meaningful life—and this includes securing meaningful and remunerative work in their chosen field,” says St. John’s College Annapolis President Nora Demleitner. “We’ve paired the timeless wisdom of the Great Books with timely supports to ensure that lives of purpose and professional fulfillment go hand in hand.”

Career Pathways adds to the college’s already robust slate of career supports, and organizes them into nine distinct career areas that St. John’s graduates often excel in:

• Law & Government
• STEM, Data Science & Sustainability
• Writing, Arts & Media
• Psychology & the Mind
• Public Health & Medicine
• Education, Academia & Philosophy
• Business, Entrepreneurship & Leadership
• International Relations, Public Policy & Service
• Customize Your Own Pathway 

The Career Pathways website details the resources available within each professional area of focus. In keeping with the college’s values, students can arrange one-on-one conversations with staff to learn how Career Pathways can support them. Current students can use the site to set up consultations with the college’s career offices, while prospective students can set up information sessions on Career Pathways with the college’s admissions offices.

Key components of the program include:

• Professional Pathways: Guidance and funding for internships, academic research, and academic study within a student’s career field of choice. Every St. John’s student is guaranteed at least one funded internship or academic fellowship.
• Global Pathways: Study-abroad experiences include studies in England, France, Italy, South Korea, and China.
• Graduate Pathways: Graduate school partnerships with top universities like Johns Hopkins University, Boston University, and University of Chicago. Each partnership offers special opportunities for advanced study, with benefits ranging from fast-track admissions to significant tuition discounts. The college has signed dozens of such agreements supporting students in the last year, in keeping with our long tradition of being one of the best feeders to top graduate and professional schools in the United States.
• Credentialing Pathways: Access to discounted online professional credentials and micro-credentials through eCornell, CNM Ingenuity, and additional providers. Full funding is often available for these certificates, which can provide credentials in areas like data science, digital marketing, and financial management.
• Curricular Pathways: An innovative visualization that maps the connections between the studies at St. John’s and specific career areas.

“Our alumni and friends have been critical to the enormous progress we’ve made in career preparation for our students” says St. John’s College Santa Fe President J. Walter Sterling. “Career Pathways is more than a collection of resources—it is a bridge between the timeless and the timely, between the depth of our Great Books program and the modern professional world, ensuring that St. John’s remains a leader in liberal arts education. It is also a testament to the vision and generosity of our donors, who care greatly that our students have the tools to succeed in any field they choose.”

To learn more about Career Pathways, visit sjc.edu/career-pathways.

About St. John’s College: St. John’s College is one of the most distinctive colleges in the country. Our interdisciplinary and all-required Great Books program probes 200 of the most revolutionary texts from across 3,000 years of human thought in student-driven, discussion-based classes. By probing world-changing ideas in literature, philosophy, mathematics, science, music, history, and more, students leave St. John’s with a foundation for success in such fields as law, government, research, STEM, media, and education. Located on two campuses in two historic state capitals—Annapolis, Maryland, and Santa Fe, New Mexico—St. John’s is the third-oldest college in the United States and has been hailed as the “most forward-thinking, future-proof college in America” by Quartz and as a “high-achieving angel hovering over the landscape of American higher education” by the Los Angeles Times. Learn more at sjc.edu.

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MEDIA CONTACTS: Sara Luell, St. John’s College Annapolis, sara.luell(at)sjc.edu

Frank O’Mahony, St. John’s College Santa Fe, 505-455-6169, fomahony(at)sjc.edu