Qualifications and Direct Employment

• Qualifications
  Our institute provides a career mentoring system and opportunities for students to travel domestically and internationally to learn various practical skills outside of the classroom. The faculty of our career mentoring system is recruited amongst Dharma Drum Mountain followers who are entrepreneurs and CEOs.
• Direct Employment
  After graduation, our students will have a one-year internship opportunity to work at various corporations and social/educational institutes connected with Dharma Drum Mountain.

Employment Options 

Our graduates have the following employment options:

• researchers of transcultural and multicultural relations at educational institutions.
• various cultural industries.
• local communities or corporations.
• administrators at government agencies.
• various private and public educational institutions.
• counselors or social workers.

Advantages of Interdisciplinary Studies in Job Placements

Dharma Drum University focuses on fostering talented people and producing professional Master’s degree holders. The educational trend around the globe is increasingly interdisciplinary. Beyond the traditional job-oriented educational systems, there is a greater need for creative people with the ability to think critically and globally, across cultural divides and professional boundaries. Our curriculum is established on the foundation of traditional education. It accepts students with BA degrees in various fields, but builds on top of these foundations to train students to creatively integrate multidisciplinary thinking and practical skills so as to compete with graduates from other institutions. Our competitive educational system helps students’ job placement in the following ways:

Domestic and International Learning Opportunities Strengthen Professional Competence

Our curriculum emphasizes the integration of theory and practice. All students will have the opportunity to take part in domestic and international internship. This opportunity will not only strengthen their first-hand experience in various working professions, but may also lead to future job opportunities. Our international internship program prepares students to work under different cultural, linguistic, living conditions, and economic and political environments, allowing students to learn to experientially, intellectually, socially, and politically connect with other East Asian and Western countries. The international internship program is founded on the rich human and institutional resources of Dharma Drum Mountain.

Interdisciplinary Training through Research Participation

As mentioned earlier, globalization is a move towards stronger integration. The ability for students to obtain highly valued careers is contingent on the creativity and collaborative work of the interdisciplinary scholars at our University. The Life Education Center, for example, is founded on the integrative and project-oriented research of its faculty members, who utilize both domestic and international resources as a platform to train students’ organizational skills and execution of different projects.

From Competence in Humanities and Various Professions to Developing All-round Employability

The success of every project depends on human interactions. The School of Life and Living focuses on the holistic development of body, mind, and spirit and the moral thinking of Asian and Western cultures. These courses are capable of helping students to holistically integrate different aspects of life experiences. Our University encourages students to take courses from the School of Life and Living as well as other Schools and Programs (such as the Center for Actualizing Chan Culture and Center for Life Education) to develop their own life values and professional skills. The aim is to combine training in the humanities with students’ personal aspirations into their curriculum. For example, one of the chief goals for the School of Life and Living is to foster capable professionals who are able to develop reconstruction programs for victims of disaster, build a local community, and help multicultural communities. Students of the School can serve as a bridge to improve communication between society and individual needs, between the spiritual and the material. Students will be able to strengthen their professional skills during these research projects. The skills acquired not only give students better leverage for traditional jobs but also allow them to connect with other professions or develop new inter-professional careers.

Career Development Founded on the Spiritual Cultivation of Body, Mind, and Spirit

Our School is founded on the principle of self-cultivation of body, mind, and spirit, which includes various methods of spiritual practice. Thus career paths already created by various religious institutions and spiritual traditions are particularly suited for our students.  The Dharma Drum Mountain hosts ongoing inter-faith dialog and collaboration. Our students, due to their training at our University, will be able to participate in the various social, cultural, and international programs of different religious institutions, irrespective of their religious background or persuasion.  They may take part in meditation practice centers, charity, education, community development, international aid and other units.  Students may choose to design their course work around their personal religious interest and research, both abroad and domestically.