The Civic Engagement Certificate will help you to integrate and intensify your experiences of community engagement at Castleton.
Castleton students are actively involved in the community. Through service projects like the Castleton Elementary School Mentoring Program, Sustainability & Green Campus Initiatives, or Alternative Spring Break Programs, students give back in a variety of ways. You will learn how to connect this commitment to service with regular coursework. As you advance through the program, you will learn skills to address the needs of the many communities to which you belong.
This program is open to students studying in any major or professional program. After completing the program requirements, students earn a Certificate, like a minor, which appears on their final transcripts.
In Civic Engagement courses, students learn more about the impact of their community engagement. This coursework broadens their perspective on the needs faced by our communities as well as various methods for addressing these needs. Students in the program learn how to make a difference effectively but also responsibly.
Civic Engagement courses teach skills that will be helpful for students' studies and that are in demand by employers. Students build their capacities for problem-solving and for managing meaningful projects. They also hone academic and professional skills such as applied research and communicating their ideas to diverse audiences.
The ultimate goal of the program is to promote the development of engaged citizens, students who can recognize a need in their community and collaborate with others to address this need in a responsible and sustainable way.
Students may enroll in the program at any time during their studies at Castleton, but they are encouraged to learn more about the program and begin as early in their studies as possible.
This certificate is available for matriculated students only and is awarded in conjunction with a degree.
This certificate, open to degree-seeking students regardless of major, allows students to develop knowledge and skills necessary for promoting positive change in their communities by combining disciplinary and inter-disciplinary coursework with direct community service, engagement, and leadership. The receipt of the Civic Engagement Certificate will be noted on the student's transcript when the degree is awarded.
1. Declare interest in the Civic Engagement program and choose a CE advisor by submitting a Change of Undergraduate Program (CAP) form to the Registrar by the beginning of the student's junior year.
Completion of INT 1220 - Introduction to Civic Engagement is also highly recommended.
2. Successfully complete four 3-credit courses with the Civic Engagement (CE) designation.
No more than two courses may be from the same academic discipline.
3. Complete 160 hours of service fieldwork approved by the Civic Engagement Committee.
Fieldwork related to coursework or to extracurricular activities may be used to complete the 160 hour requirement.
All service, regardless of designation of "service", "engagement", or "leadership" may be counted toward the 160-hour requirement (with approval of the CE faculty advisor).
4. Complete the Civic Engagement Project and Paper.
a. After at least three courses and at least 75% of the fieldwork hours are completed, the student will plan and implement a leadership project to be completed prior to graduation. This project may incorporate work performed to meet the 160 hour requirement or Civic Engagement coursework.
b. The student will assemble an advisory committee consisting of his/her CE faculty advisor, an associate academic dean, and one additional faculty member. This advisory committee must approve the student's project design.
Completion of INT 3220 - Civic Engagement Leadership Project is also highly recommended.
c. Once the project is completed, the student will give a formal presentation to the Civic Engagement Committee and write a reflective paper describing the service, engagement, and leadership aspects of the project.
Successful completion of requirements for the Civic Engagement Certificate shall be determined by the Civic Engagement Committee.