Nestled on the fifth floor of the Thomas Cooper Library — one floor below the main entrance and all of the library’s food and drink options — the University of South Carolina Career Center serves as a key tool for current student and alumni alike to build and further their professional careers.
“We always want to make sure that people are sending and referring students to us. Certainly send them when they are seniors, but we really want to see them before that,” says Helen Powers, director for the Career Center.
The center’s mission doesn’t change over the summer, according to Powers, as the staff helps to support continuing students in summer and fall internships and recent graduates as they depart USC.
First Destination Survey
All graduates are asked to participate in the First Destination Survey, which tracks their first stop out of college — whether that’s a job, post-grad internship, graduate school or time away. Powers says the more data her team can get through that questionnaire, the more accurate the results and the more precise the Career Center can be in maintaining and enhancing programs.
Recent May graduates were encouraged to take the survey during events surrounding commencement weekend, but they have about six months to participate. When that period is up, it will still be open to students graduating in August and then December, meaning that it is collecting responses virtually year-round.
May 2025 job placements are remaining steady with past years, Powers says, and they are continuing to see separation in salaries for new alumni based on participation in experiential learning programs, such as internships, co-op opportunities, clinical experience and student teaching.
“Historically speaking, if they had an internship when they secure employment versus those that have employment but did not do an internship, we see salary differences of up to $10,000. That’s a pretty significant difference if you think about it,” she says.
South Carolina Internship Program
One important aspect of supporting those experiences recently has been the South Carolina Internship Program, or SCIP.
SCIP was launched in the summer of 2023 with the support of the State of South Carolina to empower USC students at every campus in their experiential learning experiences while enrolled. Currently, students can apply for $2,000 supplements with proof they are completing an internship or co-op in a high-demand industry within the state. Supplements are given on a first-come, first-served basis to qualifying applicants, who are asked to complete an evaluation of their experience.
“It's basically a 360-degree review for the student. The student is evaluating themselves in terms of core competency development, like communication, critical thinking and teamwork during the internship,” Powers says. “But then their employer is also doing that. So it's a pretty powerful assessment tool to be able to see how our students are doing.”
Over the course of the program’s first two years, nearly $3 million has been awarded to USC students interning at more than 330 South Carolina companies.
The list of high demand industries eligible for SCIP has expanded this year compared to the program’s first two years, and Career Center staff are seeing recurring employers encourage their interns to apply for the program when they begin each semester.
Students can still apply for a SCIP supplement for their in-state internships and co-op opportunities this summer. The application for fall positions will open at the midpoint of the summer and last until the midpoint of the fall semester, Oct. 13.