Communication Associate: Public Relations | Lori Melton | lmelton@d.umn.edu | (218) 726-8830
August 6, 2013 Julie Westlund | Director of Career Services | 218-726-8964 | jwestlun@d.umn.edu
Lori C. Melton | Communication Associate |External Affairs | 218-726-8830 | lmelton@d.umn.edu
University of Minnesota Duluth Survey Reveals High Employment Success Rate for Recent Graduates
UMD students are highly successful in finding jobs after graduation, according to
a recent Career Services survey of nearly two thousand alumni from the class of 2011 – 2012.
Nearly all, 96%, of the graduates surveyed are employed or are continuing their education. "This
is a 3% increase from the previous year," says Julie Westlund, Director of Career Services. 83%
of those employed are working in Minnesota.
Ben Tollefson, who received a degree in marketing from UMD, is one of those students.
"I graduated in December, got the call in March, and started an incredibly challenging and
rewarding job that May. My education gave me the tools I needed to succeed."
Beyond simply gathering statistics about placement, the comprehensive survey also asked
alumni about their current job, establishing if it was related to their degrees.
"The good news is 78% of those employed indicated their jobs are related or somewhat related
to their majors," explains Janet Pribyl, Assistant Director of Career Services. "This means the
majority of UMD graduates recognize they are using their education in their current positions."
Tim Nelson, a philosophy graduate now working in real estate, found exactly what he was looking
for. "I love my job. This is actually what I was planning on doing when I went to school."
Staff from the office of Career Services surveyed alumni who received undergraduate degrees
from UMD between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012. The report is based on responses from
1,729 graduates (91% of the reported 1,901 undergraduate students granted degrees during
the time frame). The data was collected through email and online surveys and through follow-up
phone calls.
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