Experiential Learning Opportunities

Learn by Doing. Lead by Experience.

Experiential learning gives you the chance to apply classroom knowledge in the real world. These hands-on opportunities help you grow your skills, build confidence, and prepare for your career.

Benefits for students:

Apply classroom learning to real-world challenges.

Build career-ready skills employers want..

Stand out on your resume..

Grow your network & explore career options.

Opportunities for Students:

Ready to Get Started?

Experiential Learning Definitions:

• Experiential Learning

  Experiential learning is a method of educating students through hands-on experience. Skills, knowledge, and experience are acquired outside of the traditional academic classroom setting or lab, and may include internships, job shadowing, career treks/site visits, and service-learning.
• Internships

  Internships provide learning and training opportunities for students, outside the classroom and laboratory, to gain job skills and experiences in their major or minor field of study as they work toward graduation and transition to the labor market. Applying for an internship uses the same process as applying for a job. Students accept the placement offer and gain either academic credit or an ELCP Certificate for their completed experience. Internship experiences provide unique opportunities for networking contacts for the student and partnerships between organizations and East Tennessee State University. Instructions on how to get an internship are below.
• Job Shadowing

   Job shadowing is a type of on-the-job job training in which a student follows and observes a trained and experienced employee. Job shadowing allows a student to gain comprehensive knowledge about what an employee who holds that specific job does every day. Job shadowing allows the observer to see and understand the nuances of that specific job. The job shadowing student is able to observe how the employee does the job, the key deliverables expected from the job, and the employees with whom the job interacts.
• Site Visits

  Career Treks/Site Visits are unique opportunities to tour employers offices with a small group of peers and gain insider knowledge about the industry directly from the professionals within the organization. It is an opportunity to experience the culture at different companies and organizations. Along with the tour, these visits typically consist of an overview of the company/organization, and an opportunity to network. These visits take students into the heart of industries, exposing them to real-world careers. Students have the opportunity to travel to explore and gain insight into their career fields of interest. These unique, immersive experiences provide a behind the scenes look for students to engage with an organization and learn about career paths.
• Service-Learning

  Service-learning is a form of experiential education in which students engage in activities that address human and community needs together with structured opportunities intentionally designed to promote student learning and development, hands-on learning opportunities. ETSU’s Service Learning courses are structured to make service an integral part of our student’s education by providing hands-on learning opportunities, expanding student’s knowledge of social issues, fostering a sense of civic responsibility and social justice, and creating an expectation of service as an intentional part of the collegiate experience.