Nearly all Fordham graduates in the Class of 2024 found jobs and meaningful opportunities within six months of graduation, according to University data.
Ninety-four percent of undergraduates in the Class of 2024 were employed, enrolled in continuing education, or doing volunteer or military service six months after earning their degrees, according to Fordham’s Office of Institutional Research, which compiles this information each year. The “landed rate,” as it’s called, rose five percentage points from 2023, an increase largely driven by a jump in the arts and sciences rate—from 85% to 93% year over year.
Tracking Graduate Success
Fordham’s commitment to its students continues after commencement; the University’s Career Center follows up with recent arts and sciences graduates, sending surveys, checking in on their plans, and offering help to those who need it. The Gabelli School’s Personal and Professional Development Center follows up with recent Gabelli School graduates, and works with students on career readiness extensively throughout their undergraduate years.
94% of 2024 graduates found jobs and meaningful opportunities within six months of earning their degrees.
According to Career Center Director Annette McLaughlin, the University was able to track down 87% of the 2,115 students who graduated in 2024—an exceptionally high “knowledge rate.” In 2023, the average knowledge rate for American universities was about 55%.
“ The Career Center and Gabelli’s Personal and Professional Development Center take it very seriously to get as close as possible to knowing where every single student ends up,” said McLaughlin. “We’re proactively reaching out to find out who’s still seeking and why, as well as how we can help them get over the finish line.”
Helping Students Become Career-Ready
As for the eight-point jump in the arts and sciences landed rate, McLaughlin attributes it to a number of efforts that have been rolling out for several years, including partnerships with arts and sciences faculty to bring Career Center staff into their classrooms; working with student “career ambassadors” to connect the student body with Career Center resources; bringing students and alumni together for mentorship; and a one-credit career exploration course that helps students become career-ready.
According to McLaughlin, even the most highly engaged students can need some help making the shift from college to career.
“ Many students who do very well academically may not have focused on, ‘What next?’” she said. “We create opportunities for them to catch up.”
Health Careers and Med School
About 8% of 2024 arts and sciences graduates, or 56 alumni, entered the health care field, an industry that’s projected to grow much faster than average over the next decade. Many of these students landed job titles like medical scribe, research assistant, or lab technician, which are often a step before medical school, McLaughlin said.
This was the case for 2024 graduate Sophie Epstein, who studied neuroscience and sociology at Fordham and is now a clinical research assistant at Mount Sinai. She says her well-rounded undergraduate education prepared her for her job, as well as for her successful medical school application.
“ Sociology exposed me to the structural factors that might affect how someone interacts with the health care system differently than what I see in a textbook,” Epstein said. “It was a great way to prepare to address those differences so I can best treat everyone as a doctor.”
Blending Research with Clinical Work
At Mount Sinai, Epstein is researching how different socioeconomic factors—like race, income, insurance status, or zip code—impact patients’ recoveries after surgery for a brain tumor. She’ll be starting medical school at Stony Brook in the fall, pursuing both her M.D. and a Ph.D.
This dual track will allow Epstein to train as a doctor while also building on her research skills, a passion she developed during her time at Fordham in the chemistry lab of professor Nick Sawyer, Ph.D. Epstein is interested in researching drugs so she can not only provide care, but also discover treatments.
“ If I want to be a neurologist and treat patients with Alzheimer’s, I want to also be looking for a drug that treats Alzheimer’s,” Epstein said. “It feels like the perfect way to do the most I can for patients.”
