Samford University is ranked #10 of all colleges and universities in the United States for the quality of career preparation provided to its students according to a new ranking published in The Wall Street Journal.

The report is based on a national survey conducted for the WSJ/College Pulse 2024 Best Colleges in the U.S. ranking. The survey asked more than 60,000 students to share information on career preparation, educational opportunities and learning facilities at their schools. The survey also assessed satisfaction with the value received for the learning experiences provided.

The top national ranking affirms what many Samford officials and alumni already know – the university prepares graduates well for the future.

At Orlean Beeson School of Education, students are provided with tailored educational experiences that lead to high employment and graduate school acceptance rates.

Every one of the School of Education’s undergraduate and graduate degree programs include field, clinical, practicum and internship experiences. Career preparedness is at the forefront of each program’s design.

“Career preparedness is a part of the fabric of all degree programs in the School of Education,” said Anna McEwan, dean of Orlean Beeson School of Education, “There is a correlation, if not a causation, between career preparation at the course level and the fact our students are either employed or in graduate school within six months of graduation.”

In the school’s Teacher Education programs, field experiences are tiered, growing increasingly complex from their first experience at the sophomore level through the capstone experience as seniors who are interning in school settings for the entire semester. Each of these experiences includes an opportunity for intensive reflection, to help students solidify their understanding of theories and practice in diverse learning communities.

In the school’s Human Development and Family Science (HDFS) programs, the department boasts more than 25 partnerships with entities ranging from for-profit businesses, nonprofit organizations , churches and community groups. A hallmark of these programs is the art of matching students’ passions with applied experiential opportunity. More than 50% of HDFS students continue their education at the graduate level where they are able to tailor applied experiences toward social work, public health, church ministry, business and more.

In the school’s Educational Leadership program, mentors in the field, not the school, are paired with students to provide support, encouragement and practical knowledge from experienced and varying perspectives. Additionally, working professionals and doctoral students are required to broaden their skillsets through practical experiences that prepare them for career advancement.

“For our doctoral students we have to think creatively to embed opportunities in different settings, settings apart from where they are employed, to participate in field and clinical work that provides applied experiences that will ultimately advance the consummate professional,” said McEwan.

Students across the School of Education’s programs are given rigorous learning opportunities to apply their tailored curriculum and pedagogy to workplace environments and community settings. Regardless of class level or program, all students emerge from the School of Education’s degree programs equipped and qualified for dozens of distinct career fields.

Several of the School of Education’s partnerships throughout the state lead to permanent placements in career opportunities with lasting benefits. Principal Quincy Collins, of Trace Crossings Elementary School in Hoover, Alabama, believes  partnering with Samford leads to positive impacts for recruitment and retention in the workforce across the state.

“We know that when students finish the program at Samford, they’re going to be ready,” said Collins. “It’s an investment on the front end by having this partnership, but then it’s also beneficial to us on the back end because we know we’ve prepared these students, we know what they’re capable of and they’re going to be ready when it’s time for them to step foot into a classroom and help our students, our families and our school community.”

Orlean Beeson School of Education’s diligent work in career preparation serves the students’ best interests and the best interests of the global community. The rigorous career training students receive are working to solve several issues facing the United States today, from the national teacher shortage to humanitarian crises, Samford graduates are on the front lines of solving problems on the global scale.

“No one talks about post-graduate life and the reality many young alumni face, feeling confused or lost as they dive headfirst into the workforce and adulthood,” said McEwan, “But our goal is that our graduates do not have to face that reality alone. Our goal is that our students boldly walk into the next chapter of life confidently pursuing their calling and making the world a better place.”