Service Learning Course List

Honors 292S, Engaging with the Community: An Introduction to Community Service Learning introduces you to the practice of Community Service Learning—including how to engage effectively with a community through its people and organizations and how to learn deeply from that experience. In this course you will encounter and learn from people who have different experiences, opinions, racial and ethnic and class backgrounds from yourself and you will get to know yourself better. You will develop skills for experiential learning and for taking charge of your own education—including observation, journaling, and learning circles—that you can use during your UMass education and beyond. This course fulfills the Interdisciplinary and U.S. Diversity Gen. Ed. requirements. For Fall 2008, Engaging with the Community has three open sections:

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Food Security in the Connecticut River Valley...

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Student Bridges: Access to College...

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Mentoring with Big Brothers Big Sisters...

The CSL sections of the Dean's Book Course (Honors 291R and 391S) connect coursework to community service. In addition to the Dean's Book Course curriculum, students complete 20 hours of community service in local organizations devoted to real-life issues raised in the text. In class, time is given to reflecting upon the service performed and discussing how it relates to the books.

One section (HONORS 391S) of CSL Dean's Book is offered in the Fall. Two sections (HONORS 291R and 391S) are available in the Spring.

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Through the Independent Study option students can combine academic content with community involvement to craft their own service-learning courses. 

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This course provides students in Community Service Learning (CSL) courses with the skills, knowledge, and understanding they need to be effective in their community service placements. Students will develop cultural competencies and explore how their own identities (derived from different social group memberships) intersect with the identities of the people they encounter in their community service. In turn, students will have the opportunity to reflect on and learn from their community service experiences.

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The Information Technology Capstone is a 6-credit, 2-semester course designed to fulfill the culminating experience requirement of Commonwealth College. It is open to Commonwealth College students and to IT minors who are not in Commonwealth College. The course organizes seniors from any major into multidisciplinary teams to address real-world community needs through IT. This is a Community Service Learning experience that engages students in partnerships with non-profit organizations.

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