Experiential Learning Requirement

Community Engagement

Do you want to help make San Diego a better, more vibrant place to live?

Internships and Apprenticeships

Are you looking to get real-world experience in your field while building your résumé?

Undergraduate Research

Would you like to learn how to do research from some of UCSD's most esteemed professors and scholars?

Public Performances

Are you creatively inclined or interested in artistic productions?

Project-Based Learning

Do you want to help organizations increase their efficiency, improve their marketing, or just solve problems?

Global Experiences

Have you always dreamed of traveling across the country—or across the world?

What Is the Experiential Learning Requirement?

Experiential learning is an approach to education that purposefully engages learners in direct, applied experiences and focuses on reflection and critical analysis in order to increase knowledge, develop skills, clarify values and career interests, and develop students' capacity to contribute to their communities (Association for Experiential Education). Experiential learning is at the heart of Sixth College's mission to prepare our students to become dynamic global citizens of the twenty-first century.

The experiential learning requirement embeds these values into our curriculum and general education requirements. To fulfill the requirement, students must complete a four-unit experiential learning course within one of the six fulfillment tracks: community engagement, internships and apprenticeships, undergraduate research, public performances, project-based learning, and global experiences.

What Will You Gain From the Experiential Learning Requirement?

Applied Knowledge

You will learn how to apply academic theories and concepts to real-world settings and situations.

Lifelong Learning

You will gain experience in taking ownership of your own, self-directed learning.

Professional Development

You will develop professionalism through learning about different expectations and cultures across fields and career areas.

Civic Engagement

You will learn how to play an active role in improving your community and addressing societal issues.

Ready to Fulfill Your Experiential Learning Requirement?

Explore the many ways the experiential learning requirement can be fulfilled!

Explore Tracks

Connect with Us

Bill Robertson Geibel, Associate Director of Experiential Learning

Jeanne Monahan, Experiential Learning Coordinator