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 | FAQ's for Students
 What is service-learning?
What kind of service-learning courses are available?
Are service-learning courses “more work”?
What are the benefits of taking a service-learning course?
How can I enroll in a service-learning course?
What is service-learning?
Service-learning describes a type of course that offers an exciting kind of “hands-on” learning in which you apply what you learn to make your community a better place. While helping others, you gain knowledge that’s directly connected to the learning goals of the service-learning course you’re taking.
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What kind of service-learning courses are available?
New and unique service-learning courses are added every semester. In the past, students have participated in a variety of enriching projects:
- Veterinary medicine, kinesiology, chemistry, and theater students worked in inner-city classrooms to reinforce K-12 institutional standards.
- Biological engineering students collaborated with elementary school students to design and construct environmentally sensitive playgrounds and butterfly gardens.
- Business students developed job descriptions and interview protocols for non-profit organizations.
- Technical writing students prepared successful grant proposals for local non-profits and public schools.
- Education, English, and math students served as tutors and mentors in public schools and community-based after-school care programs.
- Social work and communication students contributed to programs that support battered women, neglected or abused children, and family development.
- Landscape architecture, interior design, and English students worked together to develop environmental education program resources for a public nature center.
- Information systems and decisions sciences student teams designed and implemented software development projects for non-profit organizations.
- Environmental studies students developed disaster management plans for public facilities.
- Architecture students assembled plans, designs, and a website to facilitate community development and communication.
With approximately 175 service-learning courses in over 35 departments offered each year, there are too many courses to list here! Check out the entire list at by clicking on “Courses” on this site’s header bar above.
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Are service-learning courses “more work”?
In most cases, no. It’s not more work; it’s different work. The course has been redesigned to include service, not to add it on to all the usual requirements. For example, in an English course you might keep a journal about your service-learning experiences instead of writing a formal essay. And the service work is arranged around your schedule. In some cases, it is done during class itself.
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What are the benefits of taking a service-learning course?
Both you and the community benefit from a service-learning course. YOU get: an opportunity to apply your academic knowledge and skills in a real way, increased retention of course material, an enhanced résumé for graduate school or the job market, a way to meet interesting people, and a chance to make a difference in the world. The community partners also benefit. Most service-learning work is done with non-profit organizations and governmental agencies whose goal is to serve the public good. You will play an important part in helping them better the lives of people in the community.
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How can I enroll in a service-learning course?
You enroll for service-learning courses as you would for any other course. To get a list of courses, click on “Courses” on our site’s header bar above. There is also a link on the “Course Offerings” section of PAWS. Talk to your advisor. Call the Center for Community Engagement, Learning, and Leadership at 578-9264 for course recommendations.
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