From College to Career: Applied Learning Categories
If you want a real-world, hands-on college experience that takes you off-campus and into a professional environment or foreign culture, Farmingdale offers numerous and varied Applied Learning opportunities. Below you will find a description of each Applied Learning category and actual stories of students who benefited from the program.
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Civic Engagement: A teaching and learning focus on educating students as global citizens. Classes or programs include meaningful civic education and activities for social good. Classes and projects have components of reflection and engagement. These focus on one's civic responsibilities, including engagement/interaction in local politics, voter participation, social action and service to the community. Civic Engagement may be credit bearing or non-credit bearing.
"I found out a lot about myself. I felt connected with my community and showed that my designs could be utilized for an important cause. I gained a new perspective on what it means to be part of my community." - Shaquille Saillant
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Clinical Placement: Students rotate through a variety of health care agencies with faculty supervision focusing on the health care field process, with individual patients or groups reflecting diverse settings, across the lifespan. Emphasis is on mastering theoretical concepts, improving skill competency, and developing clinical reasoning skills with a focus on evidence-based practice. Clinical Placements are credit-bearing.
"I definitely recommend clinical-placement experiences. You get hands-on training and learn invaluable lessons from working with different communities. I would do it again in a heartbeat." - Kaitlyn Rostron, Dental Hygiene
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Community Service: Volunteerism and community service performed by students for community benefit. This service can be, but is not necessarily integrated with a particular program of study. This may include structured projects (days of service), smaller group projects, fund-raising events, or individual volunteerism, which is acknowledged by the campus. Community Service may be credit-bearing or non-credit bearing.
Nursing students and faculty participated in community-based outreach events. Many events were geared toward the provision of health education, such as hypertension screening for the community, with additional events addressing other issues including disaster preparedness. Give Kids a Smile (collaborative effort with Dental Hygiene) |
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Creative Works: A capstone, senior project, performance, or other creative work that occurs as a culminating experience for a student in an accredited class or program. Creative Works are credit bearing.
"I thought if I was going to put so much effort and time into a campaign I might as well make it real and something that the community can benefit from," Deirdra explains. "I believed if I could find one student to pass the beacon on to, a scholarship would be the right way of showing support and encouragement." - Deirdra Kearns |
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Entrepreneurship (program, class, project): Students in an entrepreneurship program develop a broad-based entrepreneurial skill relevant to any organization, start-up, established, and for and not-for-profit agency, organization, community or industry. Entrepreneurship involves consistently thinking and acting in ways designed to uncover new opportunities that are then applied to provide value. Entrepreneurship may be credit-bearing or non-credit bearing.
William Turano created Lifted Roots Vertical Farms, a service that provides a hydroponic agricultural system that is versatile, mobile and sustainable, to meet the demand for farm-to-table foods. Jared Potash |
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Field Study: Collection of information outside of an experimental or lab setting. This type of data collection is most often conducted in natural settings or environments and can be designed in a variety of ways for various disciplines. May be mentored, self-directed work, or comprise a full course. The projects include inquiry, design, investigation, discovery and application. Field Study may be credit-bearing or non-credit bearing. |
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Internship: A form of applied or experiential learning that integrates knowledge and theory learned in the classroom with practical application and skills development in professional or community settings. Internships give students the opportunity to gain valuable applied experience and make connections in professional fields they are considering for career paths; and give employers/community partners the opportunity to guide and evaluate talent. Internships may be credit-bearing or non-credit bearing.
Noma Nayyar "I had the opportunity to intern with one of the top global multidisciplinary engineering and consulting firms - Arup, located in Manhattan's Wall Street. I was working closely with the ITC (Information Technology and Communications) team during my 10 weeks.... Recently, I got a call in which they offered me a full-time position as an ITC consultant right after graduation..." - Noma Nayyar
Montana Musillo Electrical/computer engineering technology student Montana Musillo was hired for Canon's 10-week Summer Insights program. The program is designed to provide students an opportunity to gain hands-on work experience by participating in significant work projects and exposure to various business units within the company. "I'm very excited to start working," Montana says. "It will pose new challenges for me professionally, and encourage me to keep learning and trying new things. I'm interested in all the different things I will learn beyond engineering." - Montana Musillo Other highlighted internship experiences: |
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Practicum: A period of practical experience undertaken in academic, professional or community settings/agencies/organizations as part of an academic course. This approach is grounded in application and practice of theoretical/technical concepts/skills and cultural competency relevant to the course or to a profession. Practicums are credit bearing.
Abraham Im "I wanted to become a professional pilot ever since I was four years old," he says. "I discovered this passion from my first flight, from New York to Seoul, South Korea. After that I always looked up to the sky when an airplane flew over. I always told myself that I would become a captain one day." — Abraham Im |
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Service-Learning: A credit-bearing educational strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience and strengthen communities. Service-Learning is credit-bearing.
NY Stands with Puerto Rico Recovery and Rebuilding Initiative, Francis Gomera, Gideon Sherry, and Jason DelPesce
Applied Learning, under the right circumstances, can change the course of a life. In Kaitlyn Kallansrude's case, an Applied Learning experience not only changed her life, but the lives of several classrooms full of children, in a school in an impoverished neighborhood in Jamaica. Other highlighted Service Learning experiences: |
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Study Abroad/Study Away: Study Abroad/Study Away are courses including either foreign or domestic travel. These experiences are designed to increase a student's understanding of the history and cultural features of a location and its people. The course takes place at a location specifically chosen to enhance your educational experience by virtue of its cultural and historical attributes and/or location. Study Abroad/Study Away is credit bearing.
Melissa Taveras "In every country I traveled to I found a little bit of myself," she says wistfully. "These are experiences and lessons and skills I would never have learned had I been in my usual environment. Studying abroad has been the best decision I could have made." — Melissa Taveras Other highlighted Study Abroad experiences: Alexa Toyas and Greysi Regalado, New Castle University and University College London,
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Undergraduate Research: An inquiry or investigation conducted by an undergraduate student that makes an original intellectual or creative contribution to the discipline. Undergraduate Research may be credit-bearing or non-credit bearing.
Kamryn Hernandez Kamryn Hernandez (Nursing), received SUNY investment grant funding to travel to Antigua to conduct conservation work, engage in excavations, and learn about the Saladoid and Arawak peoples with Dr. Matthew Brown in Anthropology over the summer. Together, they discovered 2 pre-birth infants from the 620-670 CE period. Kamryn presented in Antiqua on the methodologies they used in the field which included stratification, context recording, and relative and absolute dating techniques. For more on the RAM Program, see Fall Spotlight on RAM and Spring Spotlight on RAM. Other highlighted Undergraduate Research experiences: |
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