Community-Engaged Learning & Volunteering

Service-learning and volunteering are ways for CLA students to build skills, gain experience, meet new people, and make a difference in the local community. Service-learning classes combine volunteer work with classroom studies and allow students to engage in off-campus experiential learning through community work and place-based educational programs. Students volunteer for two or three hours a week at an organization that does work related to the class subject. Every semester CLA offers numerous community-engaged learning courses in a variety of departments. 

The University’s Center for Community-Engaged Learning (CCEL) partners with community organizations to create these courses, as well as to share potential volunteer opportunities.

Whether academically based or co-curricular, these experiences complement classroom learning; foster personal, professional, and civic development; and allow students to work with others to enhance the well-being of our communities.

If you are a community organization and would like to explore community-engaged learning opportunities at the University, or if are seeking volunteers for your organization, contact the Center for Community Engaged Learning at ccel@umn.edu or 612-626-2044.