Conducting applied research that promotes the academic and career success of all students – regardless of race/ethnicity, identity, socio-economic status, or access to social capital – as they transition from college to the workforce.
About Us
The mission of the Center for Research on College to Workforce Transitions (CCWT) is to conduct and support research, critical policy analysis, and public dialogue on student experiences with the transition from college to the workforce in order to inform policies, programs, and practices that promote academic and career success for all learners.
CCWT is currently engaged in three distinct yet inter-related areas of inquiry in service of our mission and principles: (1) students’ experiences with college internships and the impact of these programs on their economic, vocational, and psychosocial outcomes; (2) Community Based Participatory Action Research on students’ experiences with institutional, cultural, and structural forces that influence their transitions to the workforce; and, (3) educational and outreach activities that build community and disseminate actionable knowledge to policymakers, practitioners, researchers and students regarding college-workforce topics. CCWT also views college-workforce issues as inextricably linked to three of the defining issues of our time: racial injustice, income inequality, and climate change.
Publications & News
April 2022
Inside Higher Ed covers CCWT unpaid internship symposium
CCWT releases new research brief on internships for students with disabilities
March 2022
CCWT releases new policy brief on unpaid internships
February 2022
CCWT Project Assistant Alex Pasqualone has published a blog post about employers’ concepts about the value of internships
Wolfgram and Ahrens publish article on culture of multiple internships in Journal of Education and Work
January 2022
Dr. Mindi Thompson joins Dr. Matthew Hora as CCWT co-Director
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Center Projects
64% of students who did not take an internship had desired to do so but could not due to scheduling conflicts with work, insufficient pay, and lack of placements in their disciplines.