PSU offers community-university partnerships in the following categories:
PSU offers more than 400 community-based learning courses across allacademic disciplines, engaging over 400 community organizations in awide variety of partnerships designed to apply scholarly learning tosalient community issues. PSU faculty and students work with communitypartners in order to expand and apply teaching and research methodsthat emphasize the relevance of course content. PSU community-basedlearning courses are offered throughout the curriculum and are oftennoted in the schedule of classes with the "CBL" icon.
The culmination of the University Studies program is the Capstonerequirement. This six-credit, community-based learning course isdesigned to provide students with the opportunity to apply, in a teamcontext, what they have learned in their major and in their otherUniversity Studies courses to a current challenge emanating from thecommunity. The purpose of Capstone courses is to enhance studentlearning while cultivating crucial life abilities that are importantboth academically and professionally, establish connections within thelarger community, develop strategies for analyzing and addressingproblems and work with others trained in fields different from one'sown. Please visit the Capstones website for further information.
Students with Federal work-study grants may use their grant to work off-campus with local community service agencies. The PSU Career Center has contracts with a diverse group of organizations that allow our students to work in community service jobs designed to improve the quality of life for community residents, especially those with low incomes. Students interested in community service jobs should contact the Career Center at (503)725-4965.
Community-based learning activities can be found across theco-curriculum at PSU. PSU is home to over 200 recognized studentorganizations, housed under the umbrella of the Student Activities andLeadership Program (SALP), all of which offer engagement and/orleadership development opportunities. Student leadership opportunitiesoffer direct experience in effecting change in the community. Forexample, students in these organizations manage a sustainable café inPSU's student union, lobby state and local governments, and createeducational initiatives around social justice. Student leaders servewithin many different clusters including: Multicultural, Fine &Performing Arts, Academic, Spiritual, Service & Advocacy,Recreation, Student Government and Greek Life. Please visit the SALP website for further information.
Housed within the Center for Academic Excellence, the Student Leadersfor Service program intentionally builds students' leadership capacityto serve and learn with not-for-profit organizations (including K-12schools) in the Portland metropolitan area. Students Leaders enroll ina three-term course, commit to nine-months of direct service (five toten hours per week) and receive a small stipend. Student Leaders serveas a key link between the University and the community, making manifestPSU's motto: Let Knowledge Serve the City.Please visit SLS at the Center for Academic Excellence for further information.
Portland State University faculty coordinate student interns andcommunity organizations in both short-term and long-term partnerships.Internships focus on developing students' professional skills andexperience while contributing to the community. Internship experiencestend to be discipline-based, allowing students within a particulardiscipline to be placed in community-based organizations that provideexperience within a focused field of work. Internships may or may notbe paid positions and may or may not be taken for course credit.Internships are commonly offered and encouraged in professional fieldsof study such as Engineering, Urban Studies and Planning, Business,Community Health, Social Work, and Women's Studies.. The PSU Career Center and individual academic departments post available internships.
Much like internships, practica focus on the development of students'professional skills and experience. Unlike most internship experiences,practicum experiences tend to be a required component of the degreeprogram in which the student is enrolled. These practicum credits areconferred for learning that originates in a community-based setting.Similar to internships, practicum students gain experience within afocused field of work. Practicum experiences are for course creditonly. Departments with practicum requirements include Child and FamilyStudies, Education, Public Administration, Conflict Resolution, ScienceEducation and Linguistics, among others.
Community organizations often serve as field sites for academicresearch. Community partners assist faculty and students with problemdefinition and research design. The goal of community-based research isto create new knowledge that can be applied to address specificcommunity issues.
