Spark your imagination. Discover new possibilities.
At St. Thomas Aquinas College, students realize what matters most to them as they learn by doing. Through partnerships with companies and organizations, we offer a wide variety of practical educational experiences that provide our students with contemporary career preparation and create a pipeline for job opportunities.
Take a look at some of the experiential learning opportunities open to you at St. Thomas Aquinas — each and every one is designed to help you tap into the one-of-a-kind possibilities to reach your goals.
STAC Skills Immersion Program
A four-day, interactive professional development opportunity, the St. Thomas Aquinas Skills Immersion Program provides key insights to students and recent alumni to aid in their post-graduation job searches. The program empowers participants to develop their professional brands, hone their job-search skills, develop their networking abilities, and sharpen their interview skills. Participants also work with a small team to prepare and present a profile on one of Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For.
Offered during the Summer and Winter terms, individuals who successfully complete the program will earn a certificate. Learn more by contacting shargrov@stac.edu.
Experiences for Everyone
No matter which school and major you choose, St. Thomas Aquinas has experiential learning opportunities for you. Take a look at just some of the many ways our faculty ensures that students gain real-world experience in the classroom and far beyond it.
Created to guide students through real-world professional experiences, the School of Business Experiential Learning Program develops career readiness skills alongside classroom education. Each School of Business student participates in the program, which includes a series of activities such as internships, leadership opportunities, civic engagement, and career development tasks.
Equipped with the state-of-the-art platform for news, data, analytics, and research preferred by the world’s leading enterprises, the Bloomberg Professional Lab provides St. Thomas Aquinas students with training and experience through a variety of educational tools. The Lab includes access to the Bloomberg Aptitude Test service as well as ticker tape signage, flat-screen televisions, and twelve Bloomberg computer terminals — all curated to expose students to the professional world before they launch their careers.
Recognizing the great importance of classroom experience for future educators, the School of Education facilitates both field-based experiences and student teaching placements.
Field experience gives students the opportunity to observe educators and participate in teaching for at least 100 hours. Students will be matched with the population and specialty they intend to teach after graduation, whether elementary, special education, secondary, or art K–12. The classroom teachers hosting field-based experiences serve as mentors and models of professional practice to St. Thomas Aquinas students.
The Director of Clinical Experiences at St. Thomas Aquinas assigns placements for student teaching in schools where students have the greatest opportunities to meet the learning outcomes of student teaching. The cooperating teachers who host student teachers mentor the St. Thomas Aquinas students, providing them with guidance and modeling the role of a successful educator.
Students in the School of Arts & Social Sciences represent a wide variety of interests, desires, and career goals, but one thing remains consistent: a commitment to experiential learning opportunities.
Art Therapy majors, for example, complete 120-hour internships at carefully selected placements. Students in the Graphic Design degree program develop a robust portfolio that showcases their aesthetic sensibility and visual abilities for future employers. Many students who choose the Spanish or Romance Languages majors accelerate their language acquisition by studying abroad.
Students in the Philosophy & Religious Studies major have interned in law firms and with assembly members. Communication Arts students take trips to visit NYC radio stations and intern at broadcasting companies, public relations firms, newspapers, magazines, and media outlets.
And that’s just the beginning. No matter the major, the School of Arts & Social Sciences creates a pathway for students to have real-world experiences.
Discovery and innovation play a primary role in each of our STEM degree programs. From laboratory experience to shadowing medical technicians, STEM students at St. Thomas Aquinas gain valuable insights that set them up for success in their careers.
Home to advanced equipment like the BOD POD and Spirometer, the Maguire Hall Exercise Science Lab equips future health and fitness professionals with hands-on experience. Forensic Science majors complete intensive internships in a forensics lab, while Computer Science build working robots. Each of our Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics majors has the opportunity to conduct individualized research alongside a professor.
Mathematics majors have interned at the World Trade Center and insurance groups. Biochemistry students have traveled to Mexico to conduct health screenings and support hospitals and clinics. And Exercise Science majors have gained valuable experience in physical therapy offices, athletic training facilities, and more.
Whether STEM students want to work with computers or criminologists, healthcare providers or high-tech actuarial programs, St. Thomas Aquinas faculty and staff will help them find purposeful real-world learning experiences.