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June 25, 2025

According to by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), published in January, both recent graduates and employers agree that the top skills students should possess are communication, critical thinking, teamwork, and professionalism; however, students typically rank themselves as much as 30 percent higher in these usually rank their skills above their employers' ranking.

51�������� surveyed employers who hosted students during the College’s six-week Field Work Term to see how well students performed in these four categories. According to the employers, Bennington students far outperformed recent graduates from other colleges. 

“We know that our students excel in the workplace,” said John Link, Associate Dean of Career Development and Field Work Term. “These results from our employer surveys are even higher than we anticipated and such a great show of our students’ competence compared with graduates of other colleges.” 

The contrast between 51�������� graduates and their peers from other institutions is striking. 51�������� is the only college in the world that requires graduates to complete a Field Work Term (FWT) experience every year. Students work in internships, independent studies, apprenticeships, volunteer jobs, and fellowships locally, across the United States, and around the world. The top five U.S. cities where students registered FWTs in 2025 were: New York City, NY; Los Angeles, CA; Washington, D.C.; San Francisco, CA; and Boston, MA. They worked in fields including creative industries, nonprofit public action, environmental fields, and performing arts.

The differences don’t stop there. While graduates from other colleges receive mixed reviews across the top four career-readiness competencies, Bennington students consistently receive high ratings from employers. For instance, employers who hosted Bennington Field Work Term students rated their communication skills at a remarkable 94.5%—far exceeding the 53.5% rating for graduates from other colleges.

Critical thinking is another area where Bennington students outshine their peers. Employers rated Bennington students 95.2% for critical thinking, compared to just 55.9% for graduates from other colleges. 

Bennington students also excel in professionalism and work ethic; 97.4% of employers rated them as “exceptional” or “good.” In comparison, the 50.3% rating for professionalism of graduates from other colleges shows a stark difference in how employers perceive Bennington students’ work habits and attitude.

“Bennington students are consistently described as highly professional, mature, and capable of working independently in ways that many of their peers can’t,” said Link. “Our approach to experiential learning, including Field Work Term, is clearly paying off in the eyes of employers.”

In addition, 99.6% of employers of Bennington students reported that interns successfully achieved their internship goals, and 95.9% of employers expressed interest in hosting Bennington interns again in the future.

Students are able to complete four Field Work Terms throughout their time at Bennington thanks to the Career Development and Field Work Term Office. Staff there conducted more than 270 one-on-one advising appointments over the past year to support students in identifying and securing meaningful FWT experiences and evaluated more than 675 Field Work Term registrations across Winter and Summer 2025. More than 100 students received help refining their application materials, and more than 30 received guidance and help troubleshooting. The administration provided more than $340,000 in need-based stipends and scholarships, which ensured greater access to experiential learning for students with financial need.

“While our office ensures a seamless FWT process, it is our faculty who play a crucial role in guiding students toward experiences that translate their classroom learning into real-world practice,” said Link. “Our faculty embody an exceptional teacher-practitioner, student-practitioner model that extends beyond the classroom and shapes highly impactful Field Work Term experiences for our students,” he said. 

“Bennington students spend their entire time at Bennington steeped in applied learning principles,” he said. “They are constantly being challenged to find their own way, with the support of experienced faculty members, through their education, and that translates into a lot of great workplace skills."