Experiential Learning

The University continues to tweak the undergraduate experience toward broader preparation for the variety of next steps after graduation:

[UGA] has taken a significant step toward ensuring that all of its students engage in the kinds of hands-on experiences that enhance learning and position them for success after graduation.

All undergraduate students will be required to engage in experiential learning-through opportunities that include undergraduate research, study abroad, service-learning, internships and other experiences-through a new graduation requirement approved today by the institution's University Council.

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Linda Bachman, assistant dean in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and chair of the committee that was charged with drafting and facilitating discussion of the proposal, noted that faculty and students alike are enthusiastic about the positive impact of experiential learning for students-both during and after their studies.

"Experiential learning helps students make purposeful connections between their academic foundations and the impact they would like to make in their professional lives and communities," Bachman said. "Students who engage in hands-on learning return to the classroom with deepened commitment to their studies and enter graduate school or the workforce with firsthand experiences in their fields."

Kudos to Dr. Bachman for successfully shepherding this initiative through the university governance process. She is a terrific advocate for this new program, which expands opportunities that so many students already ejnoy.

Image: Anquilla Deleveaux, a CURO student and senior genetics major, works on culturing plates with strains of salmonella in a microbiology lab in the biological sciences building.