Loyola University Chicago

Center for Experiential Learning

CEL Canvas - 2014

The Mission

Advancing Loyola’s Jesuit Catholic mission of “expanding knowledge in the service of humanity,” the Center for Experiential Learning collaborates with campus, community, and employer partners to promote, develop, and implement academic experiential learning through teaching, research, and service. Visit the center’s homepage

Experience

Academic Internships
Academic internships foster experiential learning that integrates knowledge and theory learned in the classroom with practical application and skill development in a professional setting.
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Service-Learning
Service-learning brings academic content to life as students participate in the work of our communities, striving to make authentic connections between classroom studies and community action.
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Community Partnerships
Reciprocal and mutually beneficial partnerships with community organizations lie at the heart of our work and allow our partners to embrace their role as co-educators of Loyola students.
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Student Engagement Around Chicago
Loyola students engage all around Chicago. Check out a map of the many different locations in which Loyola students participate in service-learning, academic internships, and undergraduate research.
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ePortfolio Program
An ePortfolio allows Loyola students to demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and values through a digital collection of their work.
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Undergraduate Research
The Loyola Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (LUROP) offers fellowships for mentored research, guides to external research opportunities, travel grants for conference presentations, and workshops on research presentation skills.
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Social Justice Internship
The Social Justice Internship Program is a premier year-long, paid internship opportunity for a cohort of Loyola undergraduate students that intern at Misericordia or Catholic Charities.
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Find out how CEL partners with community organizations to create dynamic partnerships with students.

Academic Internships

“My internship with Access Living has been an excellent jumping-off point for my future career in the human services field. ...I realize that I want to do advocacy work and help amplify the voice of people with disabilities.”
  • Evan Jay Peterson
  • Major: Human Services
  • Minor: Political Science, Journalism
  • Course: SOCL 380
  • Interned at: Access Living
1,101
students enrolled in academic internship courses.
534
community partner employers engaged students in academic internships.
123
Academic internship classes were offered to students in 35 academic subject area.

Exploring Professional Pathways

Academic internships foster experiential learning that integrates knowledge and theory learned in the classroom with practical application and skill development in a professional setting. With community partner employers as co-educators, students in academic internship courses engage in real world professional experiences, allowing students to “learn by doing” and reflect upon that learning.
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Service-learning

Service-learning brings academic content to life as students participate in the work of our communities, striving to make authentic connections between classroom studies and community action.
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2,321
students engaged in service-learning
23 departments
108 courses
415 organizations
104,569
Total number of hours that Loyola students served Chicago’s communities

Community Partnerships

“The Loyola students are a valued treasure in so many ways. They bring a new sense of hope for the future of our world with their selfless giving and compassionate care that they offered in a variety of service opportunities.”
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ePortfolio Program

An ePortfolio allows Loyola students to demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and values through a digital collection of their work.

6,374
ePortfolios created by students through academic and co-curricular programs to facilitate intentional learning,
2,573
first-year students started building a 4-year Loyola Experience ePortfolio to reflect upon their learning.

Undergraduate Research

15
fellowship programs, adding a 16th, the Social Justice Research Fellowship,
25
departments, schools, or centers represented by LUROP research
105
LUROP mentors, 92 faculty, and 13 graduate students

Enlighten and Engage

The Center for Experiential Learning organizes an annual Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium. Over 300 Loyola students showcased their research and community engagement projects at this event during Loyola’s 2014 Weekend of Excellence.

99%
of survey respondents agreed that participating in the symposium contributed positively to their learning experience at Loyola.

“This has been one of the most enriching parts of my Loyola education and I am so grateful for it.”

Social Justice Internship Program

A premier year-long, paid internship opportunity for students at Catholic Charities and Misericordia. Learn more

“...because of my experience at Misericordia, Special Education is something I am considering for graduate school.”
— Fatime Rexhepi
“I have been able to grow this year not only professionally as a student but also in my faith ...”
— Flavio Bravo

Learn more about the Center for Experiential Learning

Visit Loyola’s Center for Experiential Learning for more information regarding academic internships, ePortfolios, service-learning, and undergraduate research. To learn more and view our many featured initiatives, read our 2013-2014 IMPACT annual report.