Fieldwork

The Urban Studies Program maintains a strong commitment to the application of theory to practice through the internship for credit. This unpaid internship is usually completed in the junior year. "Fieldwork" provides students with the opportunity to work closely with a community group, public agency, non-profit or private organization. At the same time, students participate in a seminar which furnishes opportunities to discuss their experiences in the internship with instructors and other interns. Assignments are designed to structure learning and to link theory and practice. Students develop a learning plan and write essays from the perspectives of organizational culture, organizational management, and academic theory. Based on the goals they set for themselves in the learning plan, students produce a "portfolio" of their work to demonstrate what they have learned.