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This spring, Cal Poly introduced a new course aimed at helping liberal arts students turn broad academic training into concrete job prospects. COMS 270 combines hands-on workshops with career research tools to help students map majors and interests to real-world roles—and it could reshape how College of Liberal Arts graduates present themselves to employers.
A practical class led by a career counselor
The course is taught by communication studies lecturer Laura Hunkler, who spent roughly a decade as a professional career counselor before joining the faculty. That background informs a curriculum focused less on theory and more on actionable career planning.
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Hunkler designed the class to help students identify where their liberal arts skills are most useful and how to communicate them in job-market settings. Rather than offering a list of specific careers, the emphasis is on building students’ capacity to research options and make targeted decisions.
What students actually do
The format borrows from Cal Poly’s Learn by Doing ethos: short instructional segments are followed by in-class labs where students complete career research, draft application materials and practice professional conversations.
- Career exploration: tools and methods for investigating job roles and industries.
- Resume and application work: crafting documents that translate academic experience into workplace qualifications.
- Interview preparation: articulating skills clearly across different professional contexts.
- Practical labs where students research, revise and receive feedback in real time.
That hands-on approach is deliberately flexible. Hunkler describes the syllabus as a “choose-your-own-adventure” structure: students focus on pathways that match their interests while learning transferable techniques applicable across careers.
Early uptake and next steps
Although COMS 270 carries a communications prefix this year—and naturally attracted a higher number of communication majors—Hunkler expects the class to switch to a CLA designation next academic year to better reflect its college-wide appeal.
Designed for underclassmen, particularly sophomores, the course has also drawn seniors this quarter, a trend Hunkler sees as evidence of unmet need: many liberal arts students arrive close to graduation without a clear way to present their skills to employers.
Why this matters now
As employers increasingly seek both technical ability and adaptable thinking, liberal arts graduates can be strong candidates—if they can explain what they bring to the table. COMS 270 aims to close that gap by teaching students to translate classroom learning into workplace value.
For students, the immediate payoff is practical: better resumes, clearer job-search strategies and more confidence in interviews. For the university, the course supports Cal Poly’s stated goal of preparing graduates to be “ready day one.”
Hunkler hopes the program will eventually become a standard part of the CLA curriculum so that all liberal arts students can use these skills strategically as they enter the job market.
