Community Engagement

What happens when you put your classroom knowledge into action? One way to find out is through service-learning and community-based research. Applying your knowledge to community projects can cut two ways – what you learn from the project helps to inform your classroom studies, and might point you toward new academic and career interests. The College's Office of Community Engagement and Scholarship works to integrate service-learning opportunities into the undergraduate curriculum. This office also sponsors the Community Scholars House, a special-interest campus housing option that features community projects through independent study; and the Sharpe Community Scholars program for first-year students, which offers summer grant funding for self-designed community research projects. Students who wish to include community-based research as part of their academic studies may minor in Community Studies.

Each year, hundreds of W&M students participate in service projects. One example is the W&M Medical Mission Corps in the Dominican Republic, where Professor David Aday and his students operate an annual medical clinic in Paraiso.

You can also organize and implement service projects on your own and with faculty members – in Williamsburg, here in the United States, or in countries from Bosnia to Tanzania. Learn more about what’s going on and what funding might be available by visiting the Charles Center website.