Mays Center for Experiential Learning and Community Engagement

Experiential and service-learning courses combine learning objectives with hands-on experiences. These experiences help students develop their skills, knowledge, and values. These special courses expand the student experience beyond the traditional academic setting.

Experiential Learning: a process through which students develop knowledge, skills, and values from direct experiences outside a traditional academic setting.

The Mays Center supports a variety of experiential learning courses. These courses have intentional projects, partnerships, or service components that can also connect students to local businesses and non-profits. Through experiential and service-learning, students can see the practical application of their academic knowledge through real-world problems and contexts.

Service-Learning: a form of experiential learning that balances class-based learning with the opportunity to serve in the community. Service learning provides a pragmatic, progressive learning experience.

Benefits for Students

• Experiential learning reinforces course content
• Exposure to community organizations and businesses
• Experience in professional environments and relationships
• For service-learning, students can earn hours towards the President's Volunteer Service Award
• Experience working on teams, project management, and applying critical thinking to real-world problems

If you are a student interested in taking part in a hands-on course, talk to your academic advisor and ask about incorporating experiential learning opportunities into your academic plan, browse for designated courses in the course schedule, or reach out to the Mays Center with any of your questions.

If you have already completed service-learning and/or experiential learning courses, be sure to request a copy of your A&M-San Antonio Experience Transcript before you next meet with your Career Advisor!