Honors Admissions

Experiential Learning Requirements

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING REQUIREMENTS FOR STUDENTS ENTERING SUMMER/FALL 2022 OR LATER

What is Experiential Learning?

Experiential learning is an educational process that combines applied learning, “learning by doing,” with meaningful reflection to assess skills and clarify values in preparation for further purposeful action.

Why is Experiential Learning a priority in the Judy Genshaft Honors College?

Students need to engage in individualized learning experiences that reflect complex, real-world challenges. Experiential learning extends your academic experience beyond both the walls of a classroom and your major requirements and allows you to put your knowledge into practice, testing and refining ideas through diverse experiences such as internships, study abroad, or community action. In turn, practical lessons gained through experiential learning inform and enhance classroom learning.

What are the Experiential Learning requirements for Judy Genshaft Honors College students?

Students will complete a total of two activities, selected from two different categories:

  • Career & Leadership Experience​
  • Community Service​
  • Creative & Artistic Experience​
  • Global Experience​
  • Research

Activities completed before arriving at USF do not count as we want students to explore new opportunities while in college.

Some activities can count for multiple categories, please connect with your Honors advisor to determine best option for you.

How are students rewarded for completing the Honors requirements, including Experiential Learning requirements?

In addition to developing unique and useful skills, all Honors students receive a total of $2,000 in scholarships as they complete each of the three requirements (two Experiential Learning activities and the Honors Academic Curriculum). This award is paid in three installments during the student's academic career:

  • $600 after completing the first Experiential Learning activity
  • $600 after completing the second Experiential Learning activity
  • $800 after completing the Honors Academic Curriculum (including Thesis or Capstone)

After completing each Experiential Learning activity, students must turn in an Experiential Learning Form to show completion of the activity and apply for the related scholarship.

Overall Experiential Learning/Co-Curricular Outcomes  

  • By selecting and engaging in personally and professionally purposeful activities and meaningful causes, students will take ownership of their own learning.
  • Students will apply what they have learned in the classroom (theoretical knowledge) to a real-world context and explain how the activities helped them develop transferable competencies such as new skills, attitudes, or perspectives.
  • Through critical reflection, students will become more self-aware and articulate how their co-curricular experiences have influenced their academic, professional, and personal pursuits.

CAREER & LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE

  • The student will be able to apply their content knowledge and skills to their experience, and collaborate and communicate appropriately with stakeholders including their supervisor, colleagues, and clients.
  • The student will be able to describe and reflect on how they were consistently, actively engaged in the learning experience and how they were challenged to think in new ways to enhance their skills.
  • The student will be able to identify and explain the ways in which they can apply what they’ve learned during their experience, to their future professional endeavors.

Career & Leadership Exploration Activities:

  • 75 or more hours of an internship (must enroll in a USF course through Career Services or departmental)
  • 75 or more hours of professional shadowing
  • Peer Mentor/Lead/TA experience for 1 or more semester
  • Honors Student Council Executive Board for 2 or more semesters
  • Housing and Residence Education RA for 2 or more semesters
  • Student Government for 2 or more semesters
  • An Honors study away experience as designated by Faculty and course content
  • Working 8 or more hours/week for 1 or more semesters with supervisor collaboration and significant educational influence
    • Students turning in this option must use an Experiential Learning Job Experience Form as their attachment of proof. This shows how their work is related to their career goals.
    • Please check with your Honors advisor that your work is sufficiently relevant to your career path before undergoing this option.
  • Working 8 or more hours/week for 1 or more semesters as an Academic, Residential, or Orientation Mentor for the Eileen Hoffman Hafer UMatter Program.
  • Innovation Scholar Program
 

COMMUNITY SERVICE

  • The student will be able to select a meaningful activity and explain how they made an impact.
  • The student will be able to recognize problems and gaps in resources, and envision solutions for the future while considering the welfare of others.
  • The student will be able to demonstrate, reflect on, and describe how they stepped out of their comfort zone to connect with diverse people, places, and issues. 

Community Service Activities:

CREATIVE & ARTISTIC EXPERIENCE

  • The student will be able to explain why they selected their creative endeavor and reflect on how they were consistently and actively engaged in the creative experience.
  • The student will be able to create and articulate the plans to achieve their long-term project objectives and goal(s), adapting as necessary as the project progresses.
  • The student will learn how to self-critique, and process and apply constructive criticism, feedback, and direction throughout the project to improve the quality of one’s work.

Creative & Artistic Experience Activities:

  • Community-based music, dance, or theater ensemble for 2 or more semesters or one community-based theater production

  • A USF band/orchestra, choir, dance, or theater ensemble for 2 or more semesters beyond major requirements

  • Create an original work of art and present it during a performance or gallery event (juried show) beyond major requirements

  • An Honors study away experience as designated by Faculty and course content

GLOBAL EXPERIENCE

  • The student will reflect on their observations in various cultural and human contexts and describe how their perspective of the world--and their place in it--has shifted.
  • The student will apply their intercultural experiences to explain how their identity and culture interacts with others, including their own values, beliefs, and biases.
  • The student will demonstrate intercultural awareness by describing how they utilized multiple communication methods rooted in understanding, respecting, and appreciating differences.

Global Experience Activities:

RESEARCH

  • The student will be able to create and articulate the plans to achieve their long-term project objectives and goal(s), adapting as the project progresses.
  • The student will be able to identify and explain how they were challenged to think in new ways and how they can apply new literacies and skills acquired during their experience.
  • The student will learn how to self-assess, and process and apply constructive criticism, feedback, and direction throughout the project to improve the quality of one’s work.

Research Activities:

  • 75 or more hours of research in addition to any research conducted for Honors Thesis (must enroll in a USF course through departmental or Honors)
  • 75 hours or more of a formal independent international research project
  • Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Program
  • Present at a USF, state, national, or international research conference
  • An Honors study away experience as designated by Faculty and course content
  • Become a finalist team and present at the annual Grand Challenge Competition