Chapter 18: Getting Involved with More Community-Engaged Learning
How can you get involved in more community-engaged learning?
There are a range of options if you want to get more involved in community-engaged learning. These opportunities tend to fall under curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular.
Curricular Options
If you are reading this Pressbook, you are likely already taking a course with a community-engaged component. However, there are many more courses that you can pursue.
If you are devoting more time to community-engaged courses, consider pursuing a Minor in Community Engagement. The list of courses that contribute to the Minor in Community Engagement is available through the Minor website.
You may also consider applying to be part of the CityLab Semester in Residence. This 15-unit course certainly requires some course planning but offers deep community-engaged experiences. Applications for the Fall term are due mid-May.
Co-Curricular Options
A range of non-course (and therefore non-course credit) options are available at McMaster.
- Research Shop is an opportunity to conduct research for our local community members
- Student Ambassadors are current students volunteering to representing a particular program that help communicate and engage potential and incoming student applicants; consider searching for and connecting with Student Ambassadors in your department or program to learn more.
- MacChangers is a program pairing multidisciplinary teams with community members to propose innovative solutions to local challenges
- The Student Success Centre consists of programming, training, and services to support students at McMaster, including first-year supports, international student services, leadership development, financial wellness, and writing and academic services.
Extra-Curricular Options
McMaster’s Office of Community Engagement
Another key resource is McMaster’s Office of Community Engagement (OCE). The OCE website contains lots of resources and information for students and faculty.
Behind the scenes, the OCE works to build relationships on campus and between campus and the community. They also train instructors, researchers, students, and staff on effective community-engaged learning. As a student, you might encounter the Office of Community Engagement indirectly through a project or classroom experience that you join. We encourage you to stop by our office or connect with us virtually!
What if you are not a student at McMaster?
Most of the modules in this text take a wide and general approach to community engagement, even when they use examples within the McMaster context. This module has a more specific focus on histories, programs and possibilities at McMaster. If you are a student at another institution, you may want to search out the equivalent office on your campus. Some examples are the Community Engaged Scholarship Institute at the University of Guelph and the Office of Community Engagement at Simon Fraser University.
