Ask a college student what they’re learning, and they can probably tell you about their courses, assignments and exams. Ask how that learning will translate into a future career, and the answer may be less clear. That’s a problem for higher education, particularly at a time when students and families are increasingly questioning the cost and value of a college degree. Students deserve to understand not only what they’re being asked to learn, but why it matters, how they’ll use it and where it can take them.
Institutions have a responsibility to make those connections much more explicit. That means creating opportunities for students to apply their knowledge, engage with the real-world tools and challenges of their chosen professions and build credentials that will open doors throughout their careers. It also means ensuring students can demonstrate what they’ve learned and explain how their knowledge and skills translate into meaningful contributions in the workplace.
At Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCU), where I serve as provost, we prepare students for a wide range of health professions. We believe the future of healthcare lies in an integrative, whole health approach—one that considers the whole person and draws on a range of evidence-informed approaches to promote lasting health and well-being. Preparing students for that future means helping them develop the knowledge and skills it demands, understand how that learning connects to professional practice and demonstrate their readiness to contribute.
Give Students Something to Show
Capstone projects offer a powerful opportunity to turn academic learning into evidence of professional ability. In our Doctor of Medical Science (DMSc) program for working physician assistants, students can pursue real-world clinical research, quality improvement, educational initiatives or community health implementation projects. Their work culminates in a final report and an oral or poster presentation at a student research symposium.
In our genetic counseling master’s program, students identify a problem in practice, education or the profession and develop a manuscript suitable for submission to a journal, conference or other publication. These experiences give students concrete work through which they can demonstrate their ability to investigate a problem, evaluate evidence, and communicate their findings.
The relevance of these projects can be especially immediate for adult learners already working in their fields. A professional pursuing an advanced degree may investigate a challenge encountered at work, develop a potential solution and bring new knowledge back to colleagues. For students entering a profession for the first time, a capstone offers a supported opportunity to take ownership of a problem and defend their approach. In both cases, the project helps answer a question that a resume alone may leave unresolved: What can this person actually do with what they’ve learned?
Industry partnerships can also help students connect what they learn in the classroom with how that knowledge is applied in practice. Through SCU’s affiliation with QIAGEN, a global leader in molecular technologies and bioinformatics, students in our human genetics and genomics program gain hands-on experience with sophisticated software tools used in leading genetics and genomics laboratories.
Students use these tools to analyze genomic data and explore biological relationships and patterns, applying the science they are studying to real-world research questions. Ultimately, the educational value of an industry partnership lies in the opportunities it creates for students to develop relevant skills and prepare for their future careers.
In professions that require certification or licensure, exam preparation provides another essential connection to professional practice. Our physician assistant program offers individualized preparation for the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE), including a strengths-and-gaps assessment, a personal study plan, practice questions, tutoring and mentorship through the exam date.
In our genetic counseling program, preparation for the American Board of Genetic Counseling (ABGC) certification exam is woven throughout the curriculum, helping students build the knowledge and confidence to sit for the exam without the added time and expense of separate preparation. Both approaches connect academic learning to a defined professional milestone, making exam preparation part of a supported transition from student to practitioner.
Make Each Credential a Step Forward
Too often, pursuing an additional degree means repeating coursework, investing more time and money, or navigating educational requirements that don’t fully recognize what students have already accomplished. Institutions can create more efficient pathways by designing programs that build upon prior learning and make each credential a steppingstone toward the next.
At SCU, we’ve created several pathways that help students advance from one degree to the next. Students in our bachelor’s completion program who choose the human genetics and genomics concentration can earn twelve credits toward the corresponding 36-credit master’s degree. Qualifying students can also complete their bachelor’s degree while simultaneously pursuing a doctorate in occupational therapy, chiropractic or acupuncture & Chinese herbal medicine, saving valuable time and money. At the graduate level, eligible graduates of our physician assistant master’s program receive nine credits toward our Doctor of Medical Science degree, reducing the credits required to earn their doctorate from 36 to just 27.
The larger lesson is that educational pathways should recognize what students already know and have achieved, helping them advance toward their goals without unnecessary duplication, expense or delay.
Help Students Explain What They Can Do
Students need to be able to explain how their education has prepared them to contribute. Faculty and advisors can help by making that reflection a regular part of learning: What problem did you address? How did you decide on an approach? What does the result demonstrate about your abilities? Asking these questions throughout a program helps students move beyond listing courses and credentials to describing their capabilities with specific examples. A capstone, clinical experience, or industry-tool assignment becomes something they can draw on in a job interview, a conversation about advancement, or a proposal for a new initiative.
A college education should help students grow as thinkers, make sound judgments and contribute to society while preparing them for their careers. Institutions have a responsibility to help students understand how those outcomes connect. When coursework, applied experiences, credentials and career pathways reinforce one another—and students can explain those connections—they leave with a clearer understanding of what they can contribute and better equipped to get there.