Map Your Future: College Seniors & New Graduates

Interested in graduate school but want to dip your toes in the workforce first? If you’re in your final year of undergraduate study, or have graduated in the past six months, the Map Your Future (MYF) Pathway might be for you.

A deferred-enrollment program, MYF guarantees admitted applicants a place in the MALD or MIB degree program after completing two to three years of professional work experience.

Why Map Your Future?

· Explore a meaningful career with low stakes: The two- to three-year work period gives you an opportunity to explore a career without the pressure of finding the perfect job right out of college. Many MYF students use the opportunity to try something they may not otherwise, and the period lines up with Peace Corps, Americorps, and Teach for America deployment terms.

· Get professional experience first, advance your career after: By joining the workforce prior to enrolling, you’ll already have ties in the professional world that will set you up to advance more quickly in your career upon graduation.

· Apply while you’re connected to academia: By applying while you’re still in college, you’re accustomed to writing academic papers, and you can leverage on-campus connections to request letters of recommendation.

Guaranteed scholarships: Admitted MYF students who submit a scholarship application are guaranteed a minimum scholarship of $10,000, though many receive larger awards.

Students who are in their final year of undergraduate study, or who have graduated in the past six months, have the option of applying to Fletcher via our Map Your Future (MYF) Pathway. MYF guarantees admitted applicants a place in the MALD or MIB degree program after completing two to three years of professional work experience in a Fletcher-approved position. This highly selective program is intended for those with excellent academic credentials and preparation, a clear professional focus, and a demonstrated track record of success, to date. MYF allows professional development and career exploration while guaranteeing a position in a future Fletcher class.  

Work Experience

A major objective of the MYF program is to ensure our incoming students have the opportunity to explore career options and gain professional experience before enrolling at Fletcher.  As a requirement of MYF, when students accept a place in the MALD or MIB program, they agree to complete two years of professional work (paid or unpaid) prior to matriculation. Ideally, this work will be related to the applicant's future career goals. Volunteer positions such as the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps or other service programs would count towards this work requirement, as would paid or unpaid internships that are long-term and substantive in nature. Some students will choose to complete two full years with one organization, while others may choose to split their time between two or more.

Map Your Future Students are responsible for finding their own employment and should look to the career resources provided by their own undergraduate institutions for guidance and support.   

Some examples of organizations where MYF students have pursued for their two years of work include:

 

Map Your Future org chart