Progressive center prepares students for long-term professional advancement

Rice launches Center for Student Professional Development
Progressive center prepares students for long-term professional advancement

BY JESSICA STARK
Rice News staff

Rice University this week launched the Web site (www.cspd.rice.edu) for the Center for Student Professional Development (CSPD), a dynamic and interactive learning center designed to enhance Rice students’ knowledge and skills for long-term professional advancement. The launch marks a milestone in the center’s evolution from the Career Services Center to the CSPD.

Unlike most college career centers, which focus on job placement, the CSPD offers resources that help students far beyond their initial employment. The CSPD focuses on three core areas, including postgraduate planning, employment research and professional communication. Tailored to meet the needs of Rice students, the center aims to increase student understanding of self and professional options, pre-employment communication skills and knowledge of institutions, organizations and companies.

The new Web site expands the reach of the CSPD and provides students a more streamlined, user-friendly resource that supports their professional development needs.

“We canvassed undergraduate and graduate students for their feedback, which helped us develop an easy-to-navigate site that features the tools and resources most relevant to their needs,” said Erik Larsen, director of the CSPD. “This is really the first stage in our transition, with more great innovations and enhancements to follow.”

The innovative focus on education and skill building has transformed the CSPD from a collection of services based on job placement to a resource and training center that helps students understand their interests and values and translate that self-knowledge into sound judgments about which industries, fields and graduate programs to choose.    

The CSPD strives to provide opportunities to:

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