Dr Sharon Aris1, Ms Alexis Monardo
1UNSW, UNSW Sydney, Australia
Biography:
Sharon Aris is a sociologist who focuses on understanding social and knowledge structures in education to understand who succeeds in education, how and why? She has written on educational choice in schooling, knowledge structures in sociology and social work and the effects of family history on family practices in education. She is currently the Nexus Fellow for the School of Social Sciences at UNSW.
Abstract:
International Studies is a desirable and elite program of undergraduate study at many Australian and international universities. These internationally focused programs provide interdisciplinary studies focused on promoting cross cultural and global understandings. This is typically realised through a combination of courses that includes languages, geographical area studies, social and political sciences, and policy. International studies programs are promoted as preparing students for international careers in government, non-government and private (often-multinational) agencies and corporations. Despite this focus however, very little research exists on actual career destinations of international studies graduates, and what there is, is highly fragmented.
This presentation outlines an analysis of the graduate destinations of alumni from the International Studies program at UNSW from the last 10 years. It examines the type of career pathways alumni have followed, including first and mid-career appointments, dominant professional fields and the types of industries and organisations, and local and international destinations.
It uses this information to understand what types of professions international studies graduates enter and what the implications are for preparing students to enter these fields.