Berea College Audio Visual students and staff member working in booth at a convocation. Berea College is a work college.

Work to Learn

Work to Learn

Berea College is one of ten federally recognized Work Colleges in the United States and the only one that provides its students with a work scholarship disbursement. Every student works a minimum of 10 hours per week at a campus job in one of more than 130 departments. In working on campus, students support the operations and mission of the College and also gain important workplace experience even before graduation. This commitment to hands-on learning and career readiness earned Berea College a spot on the Forbes list of the "15 Top Colleges for Launching Your Career."

Academics and Work Experience
70%

of Students Who Completed the Labor Experience Evaluation (LEE) Noted They Were Given the Opportunity to Develop Career-Related Skills in their Position

1,500

Number of campus jobs available for students

91%

percentage of students who credited skills they learned in their work position as supporting academic development

Berea by the Numbers

In addition, more than 60 percent of students participate in the Berea Patrons program, in which they contribute a portion of their earnings—on average, about $3 every paycheck—to the College to support its mission to provide every student a no-tuition promise. At Berea, we believe philanthropy is about generosity, not wealth. And Berea Patrons prove it.

Work Well Done

We believe all work, mental and manual, has dignity as well as utility, and that good work should be celebrated. It doesn’t matter if you work in the dining hall or the president’s office, your work is essential.

Student photographer taking pictures of a group in the studio
tech campaign

Berea Students Gain Hands-on Experience

Photography. Web design. Art curating. You name it, you can probably do it here through Berea's Work College Program and enter the workforce with the advantage of hands-on experience and a transcript that details your workplace experience.

Practical Application

Apply what you learn in the classroom in real-world settings. Agriculture and natural resources majors can put their newly gained knowledge to work at the College Farm. Computer science majors develop software applications for use on campus and business majors help run our retail outlets. Whatever you’re studying, there’s likely a job on campus that goes with it.

Employers Hire Bereans

Jason McKerr
Vice President for Engineering: Management and Automation
I hired my first Berea intern, and she went from intern to senior software engineer in less than 3 years. This has never happened in my experience. I hired my second Berea intern, and he is on the same track. I want to know what you are doing differently at Berea.

Professional Mentorship

In addition to College faculty, our professional staff is also here to teach, mentor, and support. Our supervisors teach everything from professional landscaping to bookkeeping and accounting. They also instill the soft skills that employers everywhere are looking for in graduates.

Every Student Has a Job on Campus

Campus jobs at Berea College are meant to give students real work experience. Every student receives a transcript that details their attainment of work/soft skills that employers value. When Berea graduates enter the workforce, the experience they have gained gives them an advantage over graduates from other schools.

Berea’s distinctive educational model is rooted in an unparalleled supportive community where students learn the true value and meaning of work. Our students are from modest backgrounds, yet they learn that is not a factor in their ability to be successful in higher education and beyond. Berea College is:

Interested in learning more? Read “Berea College: A Model for Working and Learning in Liberal Arts Colleges of the Future”.