Your Liberal Arts Advantage: Core Career Competencies
Employers and alumni consistently highlight that a liberal arts degree, with its emphasis on a well-rounded education, forms the foundation for a productive career and contributive life. At Soka University, a liberal arts education is designed to equip students to engage as global citizens, make informed decisions, think critically, tackle complex challenges, and innovate across various domains of life. Through experiences inside and outside the classroom, Soka students develop 10 Core Career Competencies—skills such as Analytical & Critical Thinking, Oral & Written Communication, and Applied Problem Solving—that are crucial to success in any setting. These competencies, and the career readiness they demonstrate, represent the Liberal Arts Advantage.
RATE – A Digital Self-Assessment Tool
Your liberal arts education gives you a significant advantage—now, learn how to maximize it for career success with RATE. RATE is a Digital Self-Assessment Tool that helps you recognize and value your accomplishments and learning, which can easily be overlooked in the daily routine of a liberal arts student. By connecting the diverse experiences gained through your education, RATE enables you to translate these into valuable skills for any professional setting. Regularly documenting your progress not only boosts your self-awareness but also empowers you to clearly demonstrate your career readiness to yourself, your family, and future employers or graduate programs, making it easier to see how you can make a meaningful impact in the workplace, graduate school, or beyond.
RATE helps you tell your unique story. By logging your experiences, you can better understand the Core Career Competencies you’re developing. After each experience—whether it’s an assignment, community service project, internship, research study, or Learning Cluster—students should visit the RATE™ portal to:
- Capture: Record the experience in writing or through a short video to ensure it is logged and remembered.
- Connect: Link the experience to the Core Career Competencies that showcase career readiness.
- Communicate: Present tangible evidence of how these competencies are being developed.
The RATE Tool is accessible 24/7 through the SharePoint Portal, or https://rate.soka.edu/.
