Distinctive Features of Experiential Learning at the University of Dayton
Highly-Engaged Student Body: Students get involved in our many EL opportunities early on in their college journeys. Many participate in at least 3-4 different transformative EL experiences such as an internship, semester abroad, co-op, and hands-on research, by the time they graduate.
Close-Knit Campus Community: Students benefit from the valuable mentorship of faculty, staff, and peers who actively connect their students to EL opportunities and offer guidance throughout their immersion into new learning environments.
Holistic Approach to Learning: Our committed mentors and advisors also encourage students to find connections among lessons learned inside and beyond the classroom. Students are offered opportunities to reflect on their learning journeys, integrate their curricular and EL experiences, and develop their own unique stories to share with the world.
Hanley Sustainability Institute (HSI): HSI was established in 2014 with a $12.5 million gift from the foundation of George Hanley ‘77 and Amanda Hanley. HSI works with the UD and Dayton community to make progress towards our goal of a more sustainable campus and community and becoming a leader in sustainability education. Through EL opportunities such as the Sustainability Leaders Program, students work on energy and sustainable solutions, water resources initiatives, local food insecurity projects, and a campus composting initiative. — Lincoln Hill Garden: One of UD’s main sustainability initiatives, Lincoln Hill Garden is a multipurpose site with educational and recreational elements that increase neighborhood access to fresh, healthy foods and offers open green space for community gatherings and nature play. UD and HSI have partnered with Mission of Mary Cooperative, East End Community Services, and MKSK to design, construct, and activate Lincoln Hill Gardens. In addition to offering UD students numerous hands-on learning opportunities, the urban farm produces nourishing foods and creates job-skill training opportunities for diverse neighborhood residents.
Rivers Institute: The Rivers Institute brings key partners in the Greater Dayton community together to promote, preserve and protect our watershed. Students, faculty and staff work with community members, stakeholders, and local organizations to build community around our rivers. UD Rivers Stewards participate in EL by interacting with Miami Valley’s groundwater resource. The River Stewards have also reached over 25,000 people through the RiverMobile community outreach program and connected hundreds of local citizens to our rivers through kayaking programs.
Sustainability Programs in the Academic Curriculum: This interdisciplinary program in the College of Arts and Sciences includes a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science in Sustainability, the Sustainability, Energy and the Environment (SEE) minor and a graduate certificate in Sustainability. The Bachelor of Arts in International Studies: Global Health and Environment Concentration is also offered by the College of Arts and Sciences. The Master of Science in Renewable and Clean Energy Engineering is offered by the School of Engineering.
Fitz Center for Leadership in Community: The Fitz Center offers a variety of EL programs including Dayton Civic Scholars, Dayton Corps, Neighborhood School Centers, River Stewards and the Semester of Service Program. The goal of EL in the Fitz Center is to provide students and faculty with opportunities to foster civic innovation through collective impact, asset-based community development, social change, and the creation of intentional community.
Institute for Applied Creativity for Transformation (IACT): The educational framework of IACT is based on the principles of applied creativity, transdisciplinary approaches, and realworld challenges. Students at IACT focus on sustainable changemaking for the common good. EL opportunities at IACT include the Undergraduate Certificate in Applied Creativity for Transformation, the Collaboration Accelerator, and the GEMnasium, the University’s ‘test lab’ for students, faculty, staff and regional partners to prototype new teaching and learning models for servant-leadership and social innovation. GEMnasium by the numbers, as of Spring 2019: 3 semesters, 15 different disciplines, 33 educators, 41 course sections, 850+ students.
Human Rights Center (HRC): The goal of EL at the HRC is to develop student research and writing skills; to expose students to advocacy methods and strategies; and to cultivate advocates who can apply human rights frameworks in their work after graduation. Abolition Ohio offers students communitybased and on-campus EL activities around the prevention of human trafficking. Through the Malawi Research Practicum, students codesign research projects with Determined to Develop - a Malawi based NGO, then travel and conduct fieldwork working with the community over nine weeks then return to synthesise their findings in applied research reports. — Since 2013, Malawi Research Practicum students have produced over 35 research reports providing Determined to Develop with much needed analytics to continue working with and in the Chilumba Catchment area - northern Malawi. These projects provide foundational research enabling Determined to Develop to design and build its community and development programs around formal and informal education and economic empowerment.
Cohorted Research Programs in the College of Arts and Sciences - Dean’s Summer Fellowship Program(DSF): DSF offers students in the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) the opportunity to conduct summer research in any academic discipline under the guidance of a faculty mentor. CAS also features numerous other cohorted research programs for students such as the Integrative Science and Engineering Center Summer CoRPs (Collaborative Research Projects) program, Physics Summer Research Experience, a partnership between UD, Morehouse College, Morgan State University, and St. Mary’s University.
Center for International Programs: The goal of EL within the CIP is to provide deepened intercultural engagement and development opportunities for faculty, staff and students on campus and abroad. CIP creates experiences designed to foster intercultural competency, cross-cultural knowledge, dialogue, relationships and reflection with the goal of increasing personal growth for individuals across cultural differences. EL programs • through CIP include the Global Education Seminar, Global Learning Living Community (GLLC), Breaking Bread, Sages and Seekers, and SAIL, a yearlong education abroad and leadership development program for students. Students interested in education abroad can visit UD’s education abroad website. — The GLLC is home to 92 residents who actively engage in programs throughout the year and has existed as an experiential opportunity on campus for over 10 years. — Since Fall 2016, 62 students have participated in the Semester Abroad and Intercultural Leadership program.
Multi-Ethnic Education and Engagement Center (MEC): The Multi-Ethnic Education and Engagement Center (MEC) provides special programs to create a supportive campus environment based on the academic, social, and cultural needs of a diverse community of scholars. This center serves as a resource for the entire campus community while providing multicultural students and their families with an additional connection to the University. Experiential programs at MEC include the P.E.E.R.S. mentor program, the MEC Retreat, and Cultural Heritage Month Programming.
London Flyers: University Honors Program: Today’s economy requires professionals with specific disciplinary skills and experience in a multicultural and global workforce. Up to five Honors students are selected each year to gain valuable global workplace experience by interning 20 hours per week in London, attending courses and seminars, and exploring the UK.
ETHOS Center: The ETHOS Center in the School of Engineering (SoE) provides servicelearning experiences through technical immersions, student activities, research and hands-on projects. Through these experiences, students have gained perspectives on how engineering and technology are influenced by the world. Participating students have been able to use their engineering skills for humanitarian purposes, serving others through practical engineering knowledge. The SoE also offers other global learning EL programs such as the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) Program in which students work on group projects with peers from international institutions of higher learning.
Center for Social Concern: The CSC seeks to unite faith and action for justice. This mission is carried out by numerous opportunities for reflective service, service-learning, and education and advocacy for justice. Catholic social teaching is the foundation and guide of this mission, and is integrated into all of the Center’s programs. EL opportunities at the CSC include REAL Dayton, Cross-Cultural Immersion Trips, SERVICE Saturdays, BreakOuts, the UD Summer Appalachia Program, Catholic Social Ministry Gathering, and more.
Chaminade Scholars (Honors Program): The Chaminade Scholars Program is an opportunity for Honors students to deeply explore faith, reason and vocation in an interdisciplinary community. All Chaminade Scholars engage in a common set of seminarstyle courses, retreats and leadership experiences. The Chaminade Scholars became part of the Honors program in 2011, and includes a partnership with Campus Ministry. All CS courses are now CAP approved courses. Since 2016, cohorts plan and implement a legacy project. Projects have included a conference on vocation, and developing a senior retreat. Both cohorts in class of 2019 and 2020 applied for and received vocation mini grants to support the implementation of their project, “Hidden Gems” and mini course on vocation.
The Office of Career Services is committed to providing excellent career-related resources and programs, career advising, and opportunities to build the confidence students and alumni need to succeed in their work and lives. — On-Campus Employment and Internships. Each year, the university offers approximately 3,000 jobs to students. Handshake, the university’s online hiring network, allows students to search and apply for employment and internship opportunities. In 2018-2019, — Handshake had 7,810 active employers offering full-time, internship, co-op, oncampus and part-time positions. — Interns typically work part-time during the school year and/or full-time during the summer. Students can also work a full-time internship during fall or spring for one semester, while maintaining their full-time student status. Most internships are paid, and some academic departments offer students credit for internships; students can consult a Career Advisor and internship coordinator in their department for more information. — The UD Career Services Guidebook 2019 from the Office of Career Services includes an overview of EL highlights as well as facts about where students go after graduation (Flyer First Destination Survey).
Center for Student Involvement and Student Leadership Programs: The Center for Student Involvement works to prepare students for their future by designing EL opportunities that help students to explore personal identity, engage meaningfully across difference, and make connections between their experiences in the campus union and their future vocational goals. These opportunities range from student employment to involvement in student-run clubs and organizations. There are 290 student organizations on campus, including 35+ organizations focused on service; 21 values-based fraternities and sororities, and 2500+ organization meetings and events each year. Student Leadership Programs seeks to develop within students the capacity, efficacy, and resiliency necessary to enact leadership for the common good, by interrogating and challenging organizational and systemic dynamics to positively transform communities. — The Student Employment for the Real World program involves nearly 100 students each year, and has been recognized by the Association for College Unions International (ACUI) and by Student Affairs Professionals in Higher Education (NASPA) as a high-impact educational practice and award winning program. The Student Leadership Ambassadors facilitated 6 programs for approximately 120 students in the inaugural year of the program, and look forward to more opportunities to develop, implement, and assess culturally relevant and socially responsible leadership workshops.
Business, Entrepreneurship, and Networking Opportunities: Flyer Enterprises is one of the nation’s top student-run businesses. They produce annual revenues of $1.2 million across their businesses. It is comprised of 180 associates, working for 9 different divisions consisting of two culinary divisions, two coffee divisions, two service divisions and three divisions under a joint venture agreement with UD Dining Services. Throughout the year, Flyer Enterprises’ employees have the privilege to network with different companies to learn about opportunities for internships, as well as full-time positions. Learn more here.
DC Flyers, through the University Honors Program, gives students the opportunity to explore careers in Washington, D.C. through summer internships. Participants represent the University of Dayton in our nation’s capital, benefiting from the mentorship of co-workers, faculty, peers and the local UD alumni network. Since 2014, 79 students have completed the DC Flyers internship program.