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Beyond the Classroom

The Profiles beyond the classroom

You will experience learning throughout your entire college experience. In addition to your learning inside of the classroom, you will find numerous learning opportunities outside of the classroom. These experiences may include communicating with your roommates in the residence halls, growing your leadership skills in student government, participating in a research opportunity, or engaging in service learning.

IU Indianapolis offers you many opportunities to participate in learning experiences beyond the classroom. In doing so, you will be able to build stronger communication skills, become better at solving problems, and develop your ability to be innovative. Many of these learning experiences also provide opportunities to contribute to your local, regional, and global communities.

For faculty and staff

Find co-curricular examples of the Profiles in action, and learn how faculty and staff can implement the Profiles.

Visit the resources page

Learning through involvement

There are many ways to continue your learning outside of the classroom. Getting involved in campus life is a great way to pick up additional knowledge and skills during your college experience to enhance your learning. Deepen your education and learn new marketable skills as you participate in student organizations, volunteer for service, attend events, go on alternative break programs, work on campus, and get involved in many other opportunities available to you. Do more and go further than you thought possible by living the Jaguar life, which will increase your knowledge and skills in the Profiles areas.

Engaged learning

Engaged learning provides you with an opportunity to immerse yourself in your own learning. These opportunities take your education beyond the classroom and equip you with the skills and confidence you need to solve some of society’s most vexing challenges, innovate, communicate effectively, and be an active contributor to your community.

No matter what you choose to study or your level of experience, engaged learning opportunities are here for you to embrace from your first year through graduation. Find numerous pathway experiences to lead you from start to finish during your time as an undergraduate student.

Explore the opportunities

All IU Indianapolis students participate in a common first-year experience to holistically support your transition to college. During your first-year experience, you will learn more about the Profiles, why they are important, and how they are connected to your college experiences. You will also start exploring and planning for curricular and co-curricular opportunities to develop the skills reflected in the Profiles.

Whether you intend to enroll in a graduate or professional school upon graduation or are thinking about securing a job, you will be expected to have skills that aren’t necessarily taught in the classroom, such as communication, teamwork, critical thinking, and time management skills. When you are engaged in research and creative activities, you will acquire and apply in-depth disciplinary knowledge, but also become a communicator, innovator, and problem solver who creates unique scholarly work under the guidance of a mentor.

IU Indianapolis offers you many opportunities for community engagement. Whether course-based or co-curricular, one-day or throughout the semester, you can participate in many rich learning experiences in the community. Service learning, a form of community engagement, is a component of many courses at IU Indianapolis. It allows you to engage in organized service activities that benefit the community. Service learning enhances your learning, increases your career development, allows you to work with people who are different from you, and offers you an opportunity to improve your community.

Internships have the potential for you to incorporate all four Profiles in your experience. Typically, early internships and professional work experiences allow you to focus more on the areas of communication and community contributor as you learn and incorporate knowledge about your possible career paths, major choices, navigating professional settings, and building interpersonal skills. More advanced students are able to bring higher levels of classroom learning to their internships and become problem solvers and innovators for the projects they tackle with organizations during their experience.

Global learning, intercultural skills, and cultural knowledge and understanding are essential for navigating a professional career and for being a global citizen. Study abroad and global learning experiences will strengthen your communication and problem-solving skills and will increase your adaptability and cultural awareness. These skills are widely sought after by employers and are essential for navigating our global society. Global learning will also allow you to gain a deeper understanding of yourself and your relationship to other cultures and the larger world.

Professional work experiences integrate the knowledge and theory you learn in the classroom with practical application and skills development in a professional setting. This could include student employment and work-study experiences on campus or a part-time or full-time position while enrolled at IU Indianapolis. These experiences help you explore your career options and advance your professional skills of communication, problem solving, and innovation. These experiences will also allow you to promote yourself as an exemplary job candidate upon graduation.