King's Promise for Students

The King’s Promise – Program Overview

The King’s Promise (KP) Program is a 4-year co-curricular program which will guarantee students a meaningful job within 6 months of graduation. If this is not achieved, the student can return to King’s for one additional year of courses and campus-based support, tuition-free..

What constitutes a “meaningful” job? This means that the role is aligned with the skills, competencies, and aspirations the student has developed at King’s, as well as their articulated goals and aspirations. It may or may not be directly related to the subject matter of their degree, but more importantly on the totality of their experience at King’s.

Throughout their 4 years of undergraduate study, students will complete co-curricular activities to support their career development, enhance pre-employment skills, engage in experiential learning opportunities, gain tangible workplace experience, and develop the language necessary to identify and articulate the value of transferrable skills and holistic competencies. The King’s Promise Program will empower students to achieve their education, career, and life goals in line with King’s mission as “a Place to be and a Place to Become”.

But the King’s Promise doesn’t end with students - it is also a promise to employers and to the community. Students who graduate from the program will enter the workforce equipped with desirable skills and competencies along with an ability to develop meaningful professional relationships and a commitment to making an impact in their communities.

Learning Outcomes:

Learning Outcomes for the King’s Promise were developed with reference to the Outcome-Based Experiential Learning (OBEL) Framework (Hoessler & Godden, 2021), which provides recommended outcomes for EL and WIL to meet the needs of multiple stakeholders including students, parents, schools, community partners, governments, and employers.

Following completion of the 4-year King’s Promise Program, students will be able to:

  • Gain meaningful employment within 6 months of graduation
  • Explore multiple career options
  • Apply networking skills and effectively build professional networks
  • Demonstrate experience and awareness of workplace contexts and norms
  • Demonstrate strong pre-employment skills in resume writing, interviewing, job searching, etc.
  • Integrate theoretical knowledge developed in the classroom with practical applications
  • Engage with the local community
  • Demonstrate strong interpersonal skills and self-confidence
  • Demonstrate strong time management and goal setting skills
  • Demonstrate competency in skills articulation (effectively articulate skills to potential employers and/or graduate schools)

Program Structure (*please note this is subject to change)

The King’s Promise Program will ensure students have access to a variety of important supports across all Western-affiliated campuses, and off campus as well. These include:

  • Career and Personal Counselling
  • International Student Immigration Advising and Support
  • Assistance with pre-employment skills (resume writing, interviewing)
  • Work Study, Co-op, Exchange, and Internship opportunities
  • Networking opportunities with King’s Alumni, the London Economic Development Corporation and the CityStudio Project
  • Mentor-mentee pairing through the King’s Academic Mentorship Program (KAMP)
  • Student leadership opportunities in clubs, residence, and Student Government (KSCSU)

After graduating, if you have not found meaningful employment within 6 months, you can return to King’s for up to one additional year at no cost, to complete further coursework and access campus-based support services.

Program Framework – Requirements by Year

(*please note this is subject to change)

Students will complete 3-5 activities each year across 5 categories (described below). Before graduation, students must complete 3 activities in each category. Some example activities are provided below but students are encouraged to work with the King’s Promise Coordinator to identify activities (either on campus or in the community) that are personally relevant and related to individual goals and aspirations. The five categories are as follows:

  1. Career Development
    • Attend a presentation or workshop, or meet one-on-one with a Career Counsellor – this helps to increase clarity during this time of transition and uncertainty and supports self-exploration, goal-setting, and new awareness of a variety of career options and paths.
  2. Experiential Learning
    • Participate in practical experiences that include guided reflection. This may be curricular (i.e. included in course content), co-curricular (i.e. occurring on campus but outside of the classroom), or extra-curricular (i.e. occurring off campus in the community).
    • Examples include joining a club, taking a course with a community-engaged learning component, attending a workshop of interest, etc.
  3. Work Integrated Learning
    • Participate in experiential learning that integrates academic studies with experience within a workplace or practice setting
    • Examples include the King’s Job Shadow Program, Internship or Practicum courses, Work Study, etc.
  4. Pre-employment Skills
    • Participate in workshops or direct support sessions to improve resume writing, interviewing, and job search skills
  5. Networking and Relationship Building
    • Build connections to someone at an organization of interest (or at least in the industry) to open up more opportunities and/or help you get noticed.
    • Examples include attending Job Fairs, Info Sessions, Life After King’s Alumni Panels, or other networking events on campus or in the community.

How do I register and maintain enrollment?

To be eligible for the King’s Promise Program, you must:

  • Be enrolled in a 4-year degree program at King’s
  • Have NOT completed more than 5 credits at the time of registration in KP
  • Maintain an average of 70% or higher in your courses
  • Commit to completing the required activities per year

Click Here to Apply

If you are interested in participating, please fill out the registration form online here or click the button above. If you have any questions about the program, please reach out to:

Jenny Richmond-Bravo
King’s Promise Developer / Experiential Learning Coordinator - Student Affairs
King's University College at Western University
266 Epworth Avenue London, Ontario, Canada N6A 2M3
P. 519-433-3491 ext. 4722| P. 1-800-265-4406 | F. 519-963-1013
Email: ThePromise@kings.uwo.ca
Office: W022B