Experiential learning provides the opportunity for career development or exploration and exposure to resources that may not be available on campus.
Internship or experience?
Internships are generally undertaken for academic or professional reasons. Many programs at UMass Dartmouth require an upper-level internship as part of the requirements for the degree. Internships are usually taken in your major discipline. Internships provide a venue through which you can integrate classroom theory with real-life experiences and gain greater understanding of the relevance of your coursework.
The Experience Program is an opportunity for exploration, rather than a step in a well-defined professional career plan. An experience can help you:
- choose a future profession
- explore an academic major
Typically, you can earn experience credits in most disciplines, not only in your major discipline (upon approval of a faculty sponsor, the appropriate chairs, and the academic dean).
Opportunities for experiential learning
UMass Dartmouth offers many types of experiential learning opportunities:
- Internships, clinical experiences, practicums in the majors
- Experience Program
- The Washington Center
- Cooperative education in engineering
- Service learning & civic engagement
We can help you decide what type of experiential learning opportunity is right for you—and help you find an internship or experience site.
An additional internship resource: Greater Boston Internships
Internships, clinical experiences, practicum in the majors
An upper-level internship, practicum, or clinical experience is:
- included among the program requirements for some majors
- offered as an optional course in other majors
These studies may vary:
- from a close-to-campus experience in a course, taken concurrently with other courses during the semester
- to a semester, or even a year, in an extensive experience which may be away from campus
For further information about these opportunities:
- consult the course listings in the Academic Catalog
- contact your department chair or academic dean
| It is the policy of UMass Dartmouth to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act. Employers offering internships are asked to comply with all terms of the Act when determining whether an internship is to be offered as paid or unpaid. |
Experience Program
The Experience Program provides an opportunity for you to apply your academic training in a practical way while earning academic credit. Under the Experience Program, you can earn lower-level division credits. Experience Program courses may not be used to fulfill distribution or general education requirements but serve as free electives and may be accepted toward the requirements of some majors.
The Washington Center
How does a 10 or 15-week credit-bearing internship in Washington, D.C. or abroad sound to you? Financial assistance and tuition and fee waivers are available to qualified applicants participating in The Washington Center internship program during the fall and spring semesters.
For further information or application assistance, contact the Career Development Center.
Cooperative education in engineering
The College of Engineering offers cooperative education experiences to qualified students. As part of the program, you will alternate a semester/summer in coursework with a semester/summer of full-time work.
Service learning and civic engagement
At UMass Dartmouth, service learning is a teaching/learning method that combines community service with classroom learning. You gain knowledge in a specific discipline through participating in creatively-designed community-based projects that provide real community benefits.
For information regarding service learning opportunities within your chosen major, contact:
- your advisor or your department chair
- Leduc Center for Civic Engagement
