At Penn State, we group our student engagement experiences into 10 opportunity types. The table below can (and should) be revised as we continue to learn more about how students at Penn State complete engagement experiences. If you have a suggestion for a definition change or a variation to add, please email Hailley at hmf14@psu.edu.
| Engagement type | Working definition | Variations |
|---|---|---|
| Undergraduate research | As defined by the Council for Undergraduate Research (CUR), undergraduate research is “An inquiry or investigation conducted by an undergraduate student that makes an original intellectual or creative contribution to the discipline.” | Department/Program theses (including for Schreyer Honors College), capstone projects with a major research component, and independent research completed with a faculty mentor; external research or university center |
| Professional experiences | An experience within a discipline/profession where a student has the opportunity to take classroom knowledge and apply it in a practical setting. | Credit and non-credit bearing internships, co-ops, clinical experiences, field experiences, client-based projects (outside of a course component) |
| Study abroad and study away | International and domestic travel | Credit-bearing study abroad or study away experiences, various lengths (one week to one year) |
| Community-based learning | An experience where a student takes classroom knowledge and applies it in a community setting to aid a community, most often in identifying or attempting to solve a problem | Service learning, supervised field experiences, community development, tech transfer, immersive service experience, etc. |
| Creative accomplishments | An experience where a student or group of students creates something new that is shared with a wider community | Public performance, community and creative arts programs, design consultations |
| Courses with out-of-class components | Courses that require interaction with an external entity (ex. embedded travel courses, projects that interact with industry, government, community organizations, businesses, etc.) | Could be a one-week travel component, during a break in the semester, or consulting with a business and coming up with a marketing plan to be implemented. |
| Organizational experiences | Active participation (which can include leadership responsibilities) with a student organization, professional organization, advisory group, student government, or community board | Student organizations, student government (UPUA, CCSG), an advisory board (Libraries Advisory Group, MRC Student Advisory Board), etc. |
| Peer mentoring | A more experienced student providing support to their peers in a variety of settings, usually outside the classroom. | Resident assistants, orientation leader, learning assistants, peer counseling, Peer Research Consultants, Writing Tutors, LEAP mentors, etc. |
| Self-directed student engagement | Activities that allow students to apply their learning in special circumstances or acquire new skills in the process of the experience | Completion of a leadership program or training, Nittany AI Challenge, the Spark Program, Data Hack-a-thon, etc. |
| Volunteerism | Volunteering within the campus or community for an extended period of service | Philanthropic service, civic engagement |