GVSU Career Center
First Destination Annual Report

2022-2023

Where did they land?

Recent Graduate?
Take the survey now!

What are Grand Valley State University graduates doing?

Survey of Graduates from July 1, 2022—June 30, 2023

Pie chart showing destinations of GVSU graduates. See table below for data.
Destination location of GVSU graduates, 2022-2023
Destination Graduates
Employed Full Time 70.7%
Continuing Education 14%
Employed Part-time 8.8%
Still Seeking 5.9%
Volunteer Service, Military Service, Not Seeking Less than 1% each

Destination Rate*

94%
Respondents reporting a primary status of employed full-time, employed part-time, continuing education, volunteer service, military service, or not seeking

*The class of 2022-2023 was surveyed about their postgraduation destinations up to six months after degree completion. Data are also gathered from public record via LinkedIn. The knowledge rate, or percentage of the graduating population for which we have data, is 61.7 percent (3,023 graduates).

Major Specific Destination Rates

Student Satisfaction

84%
Respondents who agree/strongly agree their current status matches goals and expectations.
94%
Total percentage of those who indicate satisfaction with overall career services offered.

Destination Rate By College

Undergraduate Destination Rates
  • College of Education and Community Innovation 93.7%
  • Padnos College of Engineering and Computing 96%
  • College of Health Professions 97.3%
  • Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies 91.4%
  • College of Liberal Arts and Sciences 91.1%
  • Kirkhof College of Nursing 98.3%
  • Seidman College of Business 95.4%
Graduate Destination Rates
  • College of Education and Community Innovation 96.3%
  • Padnos College of Engineering and Computing 89.4%
  • College of Health Professions 89%
  • College of Liberal Arts and Sciences 98.3%
  • Kirkhof College of Nursing 93.3%
  • Seidman College of Business 100%

THE LAKER EFFECT

The top regional employers recruit Grand Valley graduates. GVSU values strong relationships with employers who provide valuable career opportunities, experiences, and advice to students.

The states with the most alumni outside of Michigan are Wisconsin, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Ohio.

86%
of graduates live and work in Michigan
76%
Concentrated in West Michigan
(The Prosperity Region - 13 counties)
11%
Concentrated in Metro Detroit

Representative First Destination Employers

  • Amazon
  • Auto-Owners Insurance Company
  • BDO USA LLP
  • Beaumont Health
  • Corewell Health
  • Deloitte
  • Dematic
  • Edustaff
  • Grand Rapids Public Schools
  • Gentex Corporation
  • Haworth
  • Holland Hospital
  • Hudsonville Public Schools
  • Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital
  • Meijer
  • National Heritage Academies
  • Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services
  • Plante Moran
  • Steelcase
  • Trinity Health
  • University of Michigan Health-West

Representative First Destination Graduate Schools

  • Boston University
  • Central Michigan University
  • University of Chicago
  • Detroit Mercy School of Law
  • Grand Valley State University
  • Indiana University
  • Michigan State University College of Human Medicine
  • University of Michigan
  • New England College of Optometry
  • University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
  • Northwestern University
  • Ohio State University
  • Palmer College of Chiropractic
  • Purdue University
  • University of Tennessee
  • Trine University
  • Wayne State University
  • Western Michigan University

First Job

Employers are recruiting Grand Valley students early - 85% of graduates employed full-time reported receiving offers before graduation.

28%
6+ months
before
12%
3-6 months
before
45%
0-3 months
before
Graduation
12%
0-3 months
after
2%
3-6 months
after
<1%
6-9 months
after
97%
of respondents who are employed full-time accepted an offer within three months of graduating
Starting Salaries
Please contact the Career Center for median starting salary information by college.

Experiential Education

Experiential education includes internships, practicums, clinicals, student teaching, co-ops, field experiences, study abroad, service learning, and research.

Overall, 47% of survey respondents completed at least one type of experiential education activity. Within that group, 86% received credit for their experiential learning. The numbers below are reflective of each activity a student completed, taking into account that many students have completed more than one.

Type of experiential education in which students participate.
Education Type Graduates
Co-op 4.4%
Student teaching, assisting 11.1%
Clinical Rotation 14.9%
Internship, practicum, field work 69.9%
Types of other high impact practices in which graduates participates.
High Impact Practice Graduates
Study Abroad 7%
Service learning 9.4%
Faculty-led research 11.4%
Other 3%
69.9%
Internship/practicum/field work
14.9%
Clinical rotation
11.1%
Student teaching/assisting
11.4%
Faculty-led research
9.4%
Service learning
7%
Study abroad
4.4%
Co-op
3%
Other

Career Center Year in Review

These numbers are not pulled from the First Destination Survey but show Career Center impact during 2022-2023 across all learners.
3,750
Career Advising
Appointments
2,581
Scheduled
1,169
Drop-in
Bar chart showing class standing of career advising appointments. See table below for data.
Career advising appointment by class standings.
Class standing Percentage of appointments
Freshman 6%
Sophomores 16%
Juniors 20%
Seniors 40%
Alumni 9%
Graduate Students 9%
6,961
Student participation in career events
1,133
Total employer engagement in Career Center activities