Smith Career Center

The Bradley University Smith Career Center empowers students to achieve positive career outcomes through career development, experiential education, and learning opportunities. We partner in this work with stakeholders who benefit from the skills and talents of our students and alumni.

With the help of the Smith Career Center, students and alumni can explore and define career options, develop job search strategies, obtain career-related work experience and identify and connect with prospective employers. The Center provides individual career advisement, job search workshops, extensive web-based career resources, a targeted internship & full-time employment database, several job fairs, a graduate/professional school fair, and campus interviews with prospective employers.

The Smith Career Center and the Springer Center for Internships also administer Bradley’s centralized co-operative education and internship program. Through internships, cooperative education, and summer or part-time employment, students have opportunities for professional development, which integrate classroom theory with supervised work experience.

Several hundred employers visit the Bradley campus each year to talk with our students, participate in job fairs and conduct interviews with candidates. Employers are eager to hire Bradley students and graduates because of the many skills and talents that were developed during their years at Bradley.

Springer Center for Internships

Students are encouraged to gain career-related work experience prior to graduation. Through internships, cooperative education, and summer or part-time employment, the Springer Center for Internships provides students with opportunities for professional development that integrate classroom theory with supervised work experience.

Cooperative education and internship courses are offered to students in all five colleges of the University. Students are guided through reflective learning assignments that complement the work experiences. Students have a choice of several options to follow. The part-time option allows students to attend classes while working part-time with a local employer. The full-time option allows students to work full-time during an academic semester or summer. The full-time alternating option is based upon alternating periods of full-time study and full-time work. All the above options correspond with the academic calendar.

A series of job search workshops is offered to assist students in the co-op or intern process. Employers review resumes and/or conduct interviews to make hiring decisions. Placement is not guaranteed. Student-developed jobs may be approved if they meet the work-learning criteria. A work assignment or credit will not be approved retroactively.

While on a registered full-time co-op/intern assignment, students are considered to have full-time student status, making normal progress toward a degree in a recognized University program, and are entitled to all student privileges at the University. Also while on a full-time co-op/intern assignment, students may register for additional hours of classroom study upon departmental approval.

In order to be referred to an employer or participate in an internship or cooperative education work assignment, students must be attending Bradley University. They also must be either registered for a minimum of three hours of non-cooperative education/internship credit or be on a full-time cooperative education or internship assignment.

For information about the program, contact the Smith Career Center at (309) 677-2510.

This is the official catalog for the 2024-2025 academic year. This catalog serves as a contract between a student and Bradley University. Should changes in a program of study become necessary prior to the next academic year every effort will be made to keep students advised of any such changes via the Dean of the College or Chair of the Department concerned, the Registrar's Office, u.Achieve degree audit system, and the Schedule of Classes. It is the responsibility of each student to be aware of the current program and graduation requirements for particular degree programs.