On Sept. 24, The Justice sat down with the Director of the Center for Careers and Applied Liberal Arts and Brandeis alum, Lewis Brooks ’80, Ph.D. ’16 to discuss Brandeis’ new plan to help students become career-ready. The creation of the department was a vital component of President Arthur Levine ’70’s plan to reinvent the liberal arts, a bold initiative that aims to bridge the gap between rigorous academics and tangible, real-world experience. Brooks has  expressed excitement about leading the center and playing a vital role in helping students to navigate an unpredictable occupational landscape. Discussion focused on Brooks’ involvement and leadership thus far, the specifics of his plan — including the rollout of microcredentials, new career counselors and a second, skills-based transcript — and his hopes for students.

Brooks began by describing the various facets that make up this new plan. One of the primary components is microcredentials, which function as certifications of a skill. Microcredentials are authored and proposed by faculty members, who also plan specific assessments for each microcredential to evaluate its achievement by a student. Currently, there are 16 microcredentials approved for students to apply for, and more are coming soon. 

The Center has already gauged high levels of  engagement from students — last semester, 175 people registered for microcredentials. However, 76 of those students were seniors, who had to be assessed within a compressed timeline during finals. The Center is already planning ahead for this year’s assessment process, which will occur during the semester. Students can also retroactively  register for microcredentials, allowing students to claim skills if they’ve already met the requirements. 

Microcredentials will go on a second transcript issued by the registrar that will also detail a student’s experiential learning. In contrast to a resume, the second transcript allows students to show that Brandeis has attested to the information listed. Since approved microcredentials take into account the skills that employers look for, they reflect Brooks’ vision to “get students learning and … prepared for what’s out in the real world.” 

Other aspects of Brandeis’ initiative include consolidating the different career centers on campus into the Brandeis Career Network, adding career preparation to core curriculum and the restructuring of Brandeis’ four schools — The School of Arts, Humanities and Culture; School of Business and Economics; School of Science, Engineering and Technology and School of Social Sciences and Social Policy, which pair the subject areas more overtly with career opportunities. 

Brooks’ own experience at Brandeis and the influence of the liberal arts curriculum allowed him to pursue a variety of career opportunities. “I graduated from Brandeis as a psychology major. I made an immediate left turn and went into technology. And I was able to do that because what I learned at Brandeis introduced me to so many directions,” he said. He hopes that new initiatives that focus on career-readiness give students a clearer picture of life after Brandeis. “The whole idea is that when you come out of Brandeis, you have a direction and you can follow that direction,” whatever it may be.

Brandeis placed 59th out of 422 institutions across the U.S. in the recent U.S. News & World Report’s rankings for 2027 and has received notable praise for their new curriculum by both Forbes and The Boston Globe. While pressure on higher education and disinterest in attending these institutions is on the rise, the University is providing new insight about the ways liberal arts can prepare students for their careers and open new pathways for students. Brooks envisions that this plan will help students successfully follow a career path and have “the fundamentals that they need to sit at a table, communicate and advocate for themselves.”