Community Engaged Learning - Students

40 Hours of Community Engaged Learning

The Community Engaged Learning Program aims to support students in the School of Education, both undergraduate and graduate. We offer various opportunities to students such as: professional internships, research opportunities, CEL approved courses, professional development, and grad school preparation. If you have any questions or need any assistance, please contact the CEL team at cel@ucr.edu.

Current Undergraduate Education Majors 

An undergraduate Education, Society, & Human Development major must complete a 40 hour Community Engaged Learning requirement to be eligible to graduate. Please be aware that the 40 hour CEL requirement has a deadline depending on your exit term. Please contact the CEL team to learn your deadline. 

To ensure that students meet their CEL deadline, we strongly encourage students to create a plan of how they will fulfill their CEL requirement. For example, students should develop a plan A (e.g. CEL internship) and have a backup plan B (e.g. past/current fieldwork) in case they are unable to follow through with their original plan.

• Completing your requirements

  Undergraduate students majoring in Education, Society, and Human Development have four options for completing the Community Engaged Learning (CEL) requirement.

  A detailed description of each option is provided below.

   Past or Current Fieldwork Experiences 

  Students may complete the CEL requirement through an education-related experience they find independently. The experience may be paid or unpaid. Examples of eligible fieldwork experiences may include, but are not limited to: tutor, teaching assistant, after-school program leader, orientation leader, student ambassador, behavioral technician, camp leader, or student mentor.

  *Please note that experiences completed while the student was in high school do not count toward the CEL requirement.

  Students who would like to use a past or current fieldwork experience must submit a Fieldwork Opportunity Review Form. The form should include as much detail as possible about the student’s responsibilities and tasks so the CEL team can accurately evaluate the experience.

  After submitting the form, students should allow 7-10 business days to receive a decision from the CEL team.

  Students who are unsure whether an experience is eligible are encouraged to submit a Fieldwork Opportunity Review Form. The CEL team will review the information provided and notify the student whether the experience may be used to fulfill the CEL requirement via email.

  The Fieldwork Opportunity Review Form is used to determine whether your experience meets the CEL guidelines. Approval of the experience does not automatically clear your CEL requirement. If your experience is approved, please carefully follow the instructions provided in the CEL team's approval email to complete the remaining steps required for clearance.

   The Community Engaged Learning Experience 

  The CEL Experience gives School of Education students the opportunity to complete an internship with one of our community partners while receiving ongoing guidance and support from the CEL team.

  Through this year-long experience, students can complete their 40-hour CEL requirement while participating in guided reflection and professional development activities designed to help them connect their internship experience to their academic, professional, and personal goals.

  Benefits of the CEL Experience

  Students who participate in the CEL Experience will have the opportunity to:

  • Complete their 40-hour CEL requirement during one academic year.
    • Please note that students may not reach 40 hours during the CEL Experience, as the number of hours completed depends on their internship placement. Please refer to each internship partner’s required hours per week under the Opportunities tab.
  • Gain hands-on experience through an internship with a CEL community partner.
  • Participate in guided reflection and professional development.
  • Connect their internship experience to their academic and career goals.
  • Receive ongoing support from the CEL team throughout the experience.

  CEL Experience Requirements

  Students must commit to participating in the CEL Experience from the Fall through Spring quarters and completing all required program components.

  Participants are required to:

  • Attend one CEL Unfiltered (professional development workshop) session each quarter.
  • Attend one check-in meeting with the CEL team each quarter.
  • Complete an end-of-experience written reflection.
  • Fulfill the expectations and time commitment associated with their assigned internship.
  • Maintain professional communication with the CEL team and their internship supervisor.

  More information about the CEL Experience and the application can be found here.
   

  EDUC 190 and 197

  Students interested in undergraduate research or independent study with a faculty member may enroll in EDUC 190 (Special Studies) or EDUC 197 (Research for Undergraduates). To fulfill the CEL requirement, the course must be at least 2 units. One unit = 30 hours per quarter.

  How to Register

  Students must contact a School of Education faculty member (professor) to ask whether they are available to supervise an independent study or undergraduate research experience. If the faculty member agrees, the student must register for EDUC 190 or EDUC 197 using the designated form.

  Please note that not all EDUC 190 courses count toward the CEL requirement. After the student’s academic advisor approves the course, the CEL team will review the course plan and email the student to confirm whether it is eligible.

  Students with questions about the registration or approval process are encouraged to contact the CEL team @ cel@ucr.edu

   

    Service Learning 

  Students can receive hours from an education course that has an embedded component of service-learning. A service-learning education course requires students to complete a certain amount of hours of Community Engaged Learning for the course grade. If a student believes they are in or have been in a service-learning course, they must contact CEL. Please note that the course syllabus will explicitly say when service-learning is integrated into the course. Once all corresponding steps have been completed, the CEL team will notify you when the requirement has been cleared from your degree audit.

   

• How to clear the CEL requirement from your degree audit

  Students must complete at least 40 hours of approved Community Engaged Learning before the requirement can be cleared from their degree audit.

  CEL Experience Internship

  After completing their internship in the spring, students must submit the CEL Experience Hour Log and written reflection. The CEL team will review the hour log, clear the CEL requirement from the student’s degree audit, and email the student a confirmation once the process is complete.

  Students must also complete all CEL Experience requirements, including quarterly CEL Unfiltered sessions, quarterly check-in meetings, and the end-of-experience written reflection.

  Past or Current Fieldwork Experience

  Students who would like to use a past or current fieldwork experience must submit a Fieldwork Opportunity Review Form. The CEL team will review the experience and email the student with a decision and the appropriate next steps:

  1. If the experience is approved, the student must respond to the approval email by selecting Option 1: 40 hours completed or Option 2: 40 hours in progress.
  2. If the student selects Option 2, they will be prompted to continue completing their hours and contact the CEL team once all 40 hours are completed to begin the clearing process.
  3. If the student selects Option 1, they will receive a CEL Completion Form via DocuSign.
  4. Once the student signs their portion, the form will automatically be sent to their supervisor for signature.
  5. After the supervisor signs the form, it will automatically return to the CEL team for final processing.
  6. The student will receive a confirmation email once the CEL requirement has been cleared from their degree audit.

   

  EDUC 190 or EDUC 197

  Students who complete an approved EDUC 190 or EDUC 197 course and receive a passing grade will have their CEL requirement automatically cleared.

  Once all required steps have been completed, the CEL team will notify the student by email when the requirement has been cleared from their degree audit.