Cal Poly Pomona Awarded $4.5 Million Grant to Expand Career Readiness
Cal Poly Pomona will lead a new five-year initiative to strengthen career preparation, expand access to internships and connect students more intentionally with employers and high-demand career pathways.
The university’s Career Ready: Academic Programs and Services for Workforce Development and Career Preparation project received approximately $4.5 million in grant funding through a cooperative partnership with California State University, Northridge. Cal Poly Pomona will serve as the lead institution.
Career Ready will integrate career preparation throughout the student experience, beginning in the first year and continuing through courses, academic advising, internships, micro-internships, and employer engagement. The project will also provide faculty and staff with additional training and tools to support students’ career development.
“Career readiness should be part of a student’s experience from the moment they arrive on campus, not something they begin thinking about just before graduation,” said Winny Dong, principal investigator for Career Ready and interim assistant vice president for the Office of Academic Innovation. “Through this grant, we are creating more opportunities for students to build professional skills, gain hands-on experience and connect what they are learning in the classroom to meaningful career pathways.”
Both universities have advantages to share. Cal Poly Pomona brings experience developing micro-internships, while CSUN contributes with strong industry engagement and an internship infrastructure. Together, the campuses will expand employer-connected opportunities and develop practices that can be shared across the California State University system.
“CSUN and Cal Poly Pomona share a deep commitment to creating opportunities for students to connect their academic experiences to meaningful careers,” said Melanie Bocanegra, co-principal investigator for Career Ready and associate vice president for Student Success at CSUN.
“With the support of this funding, our institutions will build on each other’s strengths to advance CSU Forward and the CSU Promise by engaging students in career readiness early in their educational journey, expanding access to meaningful career-connected experiences, and supporting their transition to a first career opportunity or further study. At CSUN, we bring a strong foundation to this partnership, including a robust three-unit freshman seminar reaching more than one-third of our upcoming freshman, a one-unit Roadmap to Success seminar course for new transfers and sophomores, and our roles as the homes of the Global HSI Equity Innovation Hub, a national initiative connecting innovation, industry partnerships, and workforce preparation across Hispanic-Serving institutions.”
Career preparation modules will be incorporated into First-Year Experience and general education courses and may include career exploration, resume development, interview preparation, artificial intelligence in the workplace, service-learning, and micro-internships.
The project will also expand the Career Center’s Career Success Markers, which encourage students to complete milestones such as creating a Handshake profile, meeting with a career advisor, developing a LinkedIn presence and creating a career plan.
“Students are best supported when career readiness is integrated throughout their educational experience, beginning early and continuing through graduation,” said Cecilia Santiago-Gonzalez, associate provost for the Office of Student Success and co-principal investigator for Career Ready. “This grant will help us strengthen the connections among advising, curriculum, and career development so that every student has meaningful opportunities to prepare for their future.”
Academic advisors will receive training to incorporate career exploration into their work with students while continuing to connect them with specialized support from Career Center advisors.
Career Ready will also strengthen internship and micro-internship pathways at both universities. Cal Poly Pomona will share its micro-internship model with CSUN, while CSUN will help CPP broaden employer connections through its Autodesk Technology Engagement Center. The universities will work with industry partners to create additional internships, micro-internships and other applied learning opportunities, with an emphasis on paid experiences.
Students will also have access to workshops and resources focused on resumes, interviewing, elevator pitches, professionalism, teamwork and leadership.
“As the CSU deepens its focus on career readiness, this grant will help Cal Poly Pomona advance that priority by building on our polytechnic identity and commitment to helping students become professionals through hands-on learning,” said Laura Massa, associate provost of Academic Programs and Innovation.
“Career Ready will expand opportunities for students to connect what they learn in the classroom with paid internships, micro-internships and meaningful relationships with employers. We are excited to partner with CSU Northridge to build a stronger, more integrated career-preparation experience for students and to share what we learn across the CSU.”
Career Ready is designed to establish practices that continue beyond the grant period, including career modules embedded in courses, expanded use of Career Success Markers, faculty and advisor training, stronger employer partnerships and improved systems for tracking student career outcomes.
Cal Poly Pomona and CSUN will also host annual systemwide conferences focused on workforce development and career preparation and share outcomes with CSU leadership, industry partners, workforce development agencies, and other institutions.
For questions on Career Ready, please contact the Office of Academic Innovation at ai@cpp.edu.