Experiential Requirement

Requirement

To complete the Experiential Requirement, all students must successfully complete at least one approved experiential course. This course may be a part of a student’s major, and may be an approved curricular project. The identified courses that satisfy this requirement are:

1. A semester- or year-long Study Abroad program
2. A travel-centered course
3. A Bassett Internship
4. An approved field study
5. An approved directed research project
6. A student teaching assignment

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Rationale

Students concentrate in a major area of study and receive a background in general education in a liberal-arts tradition, but successfully applying this education outside the classroom requires practice prior to graduation. Thus, all students should undertake supervised, directed learning experiences such as internships, study abroad, and undergraduate research.

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Goals

Directed learning experiences should increase the student’s understanding of the relationships between the R-MC curriculum and external entities, and provide an opportunity to apply what is learned in the classroom to novel situations outside it.

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Learning Objectives

While learning objectives vary from one experience to another, for any student the objectives of the experiential requirement should include a number of the following:

1. Synthesize, integrate and use knowledge and theory in practical applications with real-life problems and situations.
2. Acquire a deeper understanding of professional fields, and relate this understanding to the realities beyond the classroom.
3. Acquire a deeper understanding of professional fields, and relate this understanding to the realities beyond the classroom.
4. Gain career perspectives.
5. Learn more about themselves and their relationship to others.
6. Practice skills in critical thinking, communication, and working with others.

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Criteria

Experiential CAR courses must earn academic credit. Criteria and graded work for Experiential CAR courses are determined by each course and may involve journals, lab records, a reflective essay, a final exam or other culminating experience.