• What programs offer service-learning?
• Is service-learning an internship?
• Is service-learning volunteering?
• Is service-learning just a program at the University of Minnesota?
• Why should I consider a program with service-learning?
• Will I have to find my service-learning placement myself?

What programs offer service-learning?
The University of Minnesota sponsors or cosponsors for a number of programs. Check the program descriptions of outside programs for other potential service-learning opportunities.

What is service-learning?

Service-learning permits you to gain direct experience working on the same content, ideas, and issues discussed in class through working at a community organization a few hours per week. With the support of your instructor, you build a real relationship with a community organization. That relationship is reciprocal—you help the organization meet its goals, and the organization gives you the opportunity to develop professional skills and cultural insights while applying your academic work to real-world situations.

Is service-learning an internship?
Internships are usually more time-intensive and offer an independent dive into the workforce. With service-learning, your experience is directly linked to course material, where you and your classmates share insights into and experiences with the work you are doing.

Is service-learning volunteering?
With service-learning, you receive course credit for the work you do. And that work is designed so that you not only give to the community, but you also gain valuable experience through the work.

Is service-learning just a program at the University of Minnesota?
It is a part of a larger national initiative across higher education. Service-learning courses are offered across the University, expanding the classroom and bringing the outside world in. It fulfills the civic mission of the university wherein learning is a social activity taking place within communities bringing together reflection and experience. As a student, you can become part of this larger movement of engaged citizen leaders.

(Adapted with thanks from web material of the Career and Community Learning Center, University of Minnesota)

Why should I consider a program with service-learning?

• A community service-learning placement allows you to experience social realities in your host society that are far removed from those of your host university or study abroad center.
• Some students are able to use service-learning placements to test out a potential career choice. You'll get real-life experience working within an organization.
• Being in an organization permits you to learn about different organizational structures, cultures, and approaches to social services or social change.
• In a study abroad context, a service-learning placement is a powerful window to the host culture. Students who engage in service-learning often gain deeper insights than those who confine their learning to classroom settings.
• The combination of coursework and the service-learning placement is a powerful stimulus to reflection on who you are, how you relate to the wider world, and what you want to do with your life. Students often find service-learning plays a crucial role in helping them clarify their values.

Will I have to find my service-learning placement myself?
No. The placement is built into a course, and the program will find you a placement that supports the intended learning outcomes of that course.

 

Last modified on May 6, 2008

Last modified on November 21, 2008