Students

Your Path To Career Success

Regardless of what you’re studying at Meadows, we want you to graduate feeling confident and prepared in pursuit of your career goals. In partnership with the SMU Hegi Family Career Development Center, the Meadows Office of Alumni and Career Success (ACS) offers resources, events and programs to assist students in building self-sustaining careers in the arts, media, design and communications.

Meet-a-Meadows-Mentor

Meet a Meadows Mentor

When you pursue a degree at SMU Meadows, you become part of a global network of more than 26,000 alumni – artists, communicators, and creative professionals who want to help you succeed. These alumni provide real-world, industry-specific insight as you explore careers and prepare for life after graduation.

The Hegi Family Career Development Center offers Meadows Career Success Appointments, available exclusively to Meadows undergraduate and graduate majors and pre-majors.

During this 45-minute session, you will:

  • Receive a one-on-one networking tutorial from a Hegi career counselor
  • Explore career paths related to your major
  • Get matched with a Meadows Mentor - an alum who can review your résumé or meet with you for a 30-minute virtual informational interview

  1. Visit smu.edu/12twenty and login with SMU credentials
  2. Select Appointments from the left navigation panel
  3. Select Hegi Family Career Development Center from the Career Center drop-down menu
  4. Select Hegi Meadows Career Success from the Appointment Type drop-down menu

  5. If you are having trouble identifying a counselor or time frame that works for your schedule, use the arrows (< and >) to toggle between weeks. Selecting a date that is at least two weeks in the future should give you larger time frames of counselor availability to choose from.

  6. Be sure to select a block of time that is at least 60 minutes in duration, as this is an hourlong career counseling session. The block of time that you select may be up to three or four hours long, but you’ll be able to reduce and refine this time frame (and select your desired start time) when you complete the booking.

After completing one appointment, you’re eligible to request matching with as many additional Meadows Mentors as you’d like for the rest of the semester, helping you build meaningful connections across your field.

Questions? Email us at meadowscareer@smu.edu.

Learn more about 12twenty.

Book An Appointment

SMU MEADOWS INTERN FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

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Dallas-based Internships Reserved Exclusively for Meadows Students
Thanks to generous donors and alumni, this year’s program will subsidize eleven paid summer internships reserved exclusively for Meadows undergraduate students at nine different Dallas-based arts, communication, and media organizations. These internships will run 15 to 30 hours per week for 10 weeks (June through early August 2026.) Each fellow will receive a fixed stipend of $3,000 to support living expenses during the internship. Read more about the program.

Learn More And Apply

Meadows-Network

ACCESS THE SMU MEADOWS NETWORK

In earning a diploma from Meadows, you become part of a global community of more than 26,000 alumni – artists, collaborators and communicators who can help you meet your career goals. Harness the power of the Meadows Network by exploring the following resources:

SMU Meadows Network on LinkedIn
A closed group of more than 2,700 alumni, students, faculty and staff that features job postings, alumni news and school announcements. Administrative approval is required to join.

Join the Meadows Network

The SMU Network
Exclusive to SMU alumni and students, this platform allows members to designate themselves as “willing to help” others with their careers, taking some of the guesswork out of networking efforts.

Join the SMU Network

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ENGAGE DALLAS AND ACCESS INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS

The Hegi Family Career Development Center hosts two unique internship programs for SMU undergraduate students, the Engage Dallas Internship Program and the Achieving Career Competence, Exposure, and Strategies for Success (ACCESS) Internship Program. These roles are tailored to provide students from diverse backgrounds with hands-on experience with a local DFW area organization offered by private companies and nonprofit organizations. These are 10-week, paid summer internships where students will work on average 15 hours per week. Students are paid four times throughout the duration of the internship.

Learn More And Apply

NEED FUNDING FOR AN UNPAID INTERNSHIP?

SMU has several programs that award funding to students who have acquired an unpaid internship from a non-profit or government organization. Students must apply to receive funding, which is available on a limited basis.

The Kelli Herd Internship Fund provides financial support to declared SMU Film and Media Arts majors (B.A. or B.F.A.) pursuing internships related to their field. This fund helps reduce financial barriers for students seeking hands-on professional experience, whether locally or in major industry hubs like Los Angeles. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis with multiple deadlines throughout the academic year (November 15, February 15, and April 25.) Provisional approval is also possible if you're in the process of securing an internship, offering peace of mind as you explore opportunities. To apply, qualified students must submit an application form, budget, and internship verification. Email film@smu.edu for more details.

The Hegi Family Career Development Center has limited funding available to compensate students who have accepted an unpaid internship offer serving a non-profit, government, or social impact organization. Applicants must be full-time students who intend to enroll for the fall 2026 term. Applications for summer 2026 internship funding open in mid-March. Applicants will be required to submit an internship offer letter and submit a short-answer survey. Contact Assistant Director of Employer Relations David Sommers at sommersd@smu.edu for more information.

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SMU MAGUIRE ETHIC CENTER PUBLIC SERVICE FELLOWSHIP

This fellowship is designed for students to engage in ethics or public responsibility-related work and/or research. All full-time SMU undergraduate and graduate students with a GPA of 3.0 or better are eligible to apply. Students must be returning to campus for the fall 2026 semester. Fellows must complete at least 200 hours of service during the course of the project. Applications for summer 2026 funding are open now and will close on March 13, 2026.

Learn More And Apply

STEPPINGBLOCKS - YOUR DIGITAL CAREER COUNSELOR

Navigating your career path just got easier! SMU offers all students free access to the Steppingblocks Digital Career Counselor, an AI-powered platform designed to help you explore career options, build relevant skills and plan for your future with confidence.

Using Steppingblocks, you can:

  • Take a personality evaluation to discover careers that align with your strengths and interests.
  • Explore career outcomes of SMU alumni – see where they work, what they studied and how they got there.
  • Use Career 360 Search to find real-world career paths and learn from professionals in your field.
  • Plan your finances with the Tuition Analyzer – understand your education costs and break-even timeline.

Access Steppingblocks

LET’S STAY IN TOUCH

Subscribe to receive periodic email updates, including information on exclusive internship and event opportunities, from Meadows Alumni and Career Success.

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LEARN MORE

Hear more about the alumni networking and internship opportunities offered through Meadows’ Office of Alumni and Career Success by tuning into a recent Meadows on the Mic podcast episode featuring Timmie Hathorn, who heads this initiative for the school.