Career Development: Art & Design

Sam Fox School graduates are uniquely innovative, entrepreneurial, and engaged, and they find rewarding careers that match their vast ambitions. Many of our alumni become prominent artists and designers, but they also go on to diverse professions in business, law, medicine, public health, publishing, and writing.

Our dedicated Career Development office plays an important role in that success, offering Sam Fox School students one-on-one advising and specialized programs to pursue their professional interests.

How to Work with the Career Development Office

1:1 Appointments

One-on-one advising helps students crystallize their interests and guides them on how to structure the search. In the process, students will identify and develop the tools to effectively target prospects—whether for an internship, job, residency, fellowship, graduate school, or other professional opportunity. Students may also schedule a 1:1 mock interview anytime throughout the year. To make an appointment, reach out to Jen Meyer at jennifer.meyer@wustl.edu.

Quick Advising

These ten-minute check-ins are ideal for a quick review of a resume, to discuss edits to a cover letter, or to trouble-shoot a follow-up strategy with a prospect. Quick Advising is available to students who have had a 1:1 appointment previously. Weekly sign-up links are emailed out by Jen Meyer.

Pro Practices Seminars

These seminars are designed to provide a foundation for students to confidently pursue professional, transitional, and further academic opportunities.

For Design Majors: The seminar is offered to juniors and seniors in fashion design and communication design. The nine-week program includes sessions on the development of résumé, cover letter, online presence, and portfolio, as well as skill-building sessions focused on networking, interviewing, social media, and professional etiquette. Contact Jen Meyer for details

For Studio Art Majors: In partnership with faculty, the Career Development office leads a series of professional practices sessions that are integrated into the required curriculum for all juniors and seniors in art. Skills, materials, and learning outcomes from the course support both a studio practice and beyond, and can be leveraged into any number of career paths, fields, and industries.

Virtual Alumni Networking

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and altered job and internship markets, the Sam Fox School Career Development team initiated a virtual alumni networking and mentoring program for students in summer 2020. These opportunities were valued by both the students and the alumni, with 100 art and design students and 155 art and design alumni taking part. Stay tuned for updates on other such opportunities.

Special opportunities On and Off Campus

Students are encouraged to connect and participate in both the Sam Fox School community and in the larger arts and design community in the St. Louis area and beyond. The Career Development office works closely with faculty and staff to circulate and promote opportunities such as working with visiting artists, engaging with local galleries, applying for grants, and joining collaborative projects. Announcements will be sent via email.

WashU Center for Career Engagement

The main office of WashU Center for Career Engagement, located in the DUC, is another resource for students at the Sam Fox School. The WashU Center for Career Engagement hosts an all-campus career fair in the fall and spring, in addition to skill-building workshops and other ongoing programs. In the spring, juniors should look for announcements about Junior Jumpstart. The WashU Center for Career Engagement also posts information about career opportunities through CAREERlink.

WashU Center for Career Engagement website

CAREERlink

Road Shows

Road Shows are your opportunity to meet with organizations across the country. These trips focus on a city and an industry, and are open to all WashU students. During the trip, you will have the opportunity to meet WashU alumni working and living in the city, as well as tour and meet with select organizations.

Recent Road Shows have taken place remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Past in-person Road Show destinations included:

Los Angeles (Fashion, with visits to 24 Seven, Chanel, Fred Segal, Guess, and Hybrid Apparel)
New York (Fashion; Art Direction + Design, with visits to 1stAveMachine, 2x4, Moment, Saatchi & Saatchi, 72andSunny, and Verizon)
Chicago (Art Design & Direction, with visits to Studio Blue, Morningstar, Thirst, Wright Action House, Greater Good Design, and VSA; Artists, Arts Organizations, & Cultural Institutions, with visits to the Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Art, Richard Gray Gallery, Rebuild Foundation, studio of alum Ginny Sykes, Smart Museum of Art, and Metal Magic Fabricators)
Silicon Valley (Art Direction + Design, with visits to IDEO, Method, frog, Pinterest, Levi Strauss & Co., YouTube/Google, Facebook, and DreamWorks Animation)

Job and Internship Placements

A small selection of recent job and internship placements for our current students and recent graduates is listed below. You can also check out the WashU Center for Career Engagement’s Outcome Data Page. In addition to these landings, our students often go on to graduate programs in art and design at prestigious universities across the country.

72andSunny
American Museum of Natural History
The Atlantic
Atomicdust
Digitas
Edward Jones
Facebook
FCB Chicago
Fleishman-Hillard
Franklyn
frog
Glamour magazine
Google
Grand Studio
Guggenheim Museum
HarperCollins Publishers
IBM Design
IDEO
J. Crew web design
Medium
New York Magazine
Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Ogilvy & Mather
Penguin Group
Pentagram
PwC Digital
Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness
Shutterfly
Smart Design
TOKY Branding + Design
Walt Disney Imagineering
YouTube

Coach
Diane von Furstenberg
Entireworld
E.S. Originals
Hearst Digital Media
Isaac Mizrahi
Kate Spade
Launch
Levi Strauss & Co.
Oscar Carvallo Paris
Ralph Lauren
Sachin & Babi
SUMMERSALT
Theory
Tommy Hilfiger
Tory Burch

Artist assistant to Tara Donovan
BBD
CMT Group
Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis
Drive Social Media St. Louis
Formulate
Kukje Gallery
Laumeier Sculpture Park
National Gallery of Art
National Portrait Gallery
Octavia
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Princeton University Press
Quad/Graphics
Right Start
Starry Kitchen
Third Degree Glass Factory
Two Twelve

1stAveMachine
20th Century FOX
American Museum of Natural History
Cheree Berry Paper
Digitas
Disney ABC Television Group
Interbrand
Kate Spade
Mozilla
Pentagram
Pixar Animation Studios
Shedd Aquarium
Studio Blue

3.1 Phillip Lim
Calvin Klein
Derek Lam
Georgio Armani
J.Crew
Nanette Lepore
Nylon magazine
Vera Wang

ASIG Productions
Gagosian Gallery
Georgia O'Keeffe Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Pace Prints
Peggy Guggenheim Collection
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Regional Arts Commission
Rob Voerman Studios (Holland)
Saint Louis Art Museum
Six Mile Sculpture Works
Whitney Museum of American Art

Alumni Spotlights

Check out our new (and growing!) series of profiles of outstanding alumni. They share what they’re currently working on, their advice for current students, and even the biggest project they’ve carried back from Bixby to the dorms.