A key aspect of your education will be experiential learning. That is, learning by doing. By engaging in hands-on experiences, you'll connect theories and knowledge learned in the classroom to real-world situations. Our students contribute over 38,000 hours per year in the community through the options for experiential learning at Booth University College.
Urban Service Learning
One of the most enriching and memorable parts of the Booth University College experience is Urban Service Learning. Service Learning combines academic study with the lived experience of urban service. You’ll gain work and volunteer experience while connecting with others who feel empowered to create positive change in our communities.
Urban Service Learning is a core requirement of our certificate and degree programs. It's the field placement component of the Urban Service Learning course (USL 151).
Students select a single site where they build relationships over time and experience challenges in a new setting. By connecting service to the curriculum, we enrich your learning and broaden your understanding of the course.
Change Lives
Urban Service Learning focuses on a social need in a marginalized sector of Winnipeg. You'll work with people facing social concerns such as homelessness, gang life, exploitation and poverty. Gain leadership skills and in-depth knowledge of the causes of injustice, inequality and suffering.
You'll build self-awareness and change lives.
Choosing a Site
You'll select one service learning site. Consistency is beneficial for the experience and for building relationships. A variety of sites have been pre-screened to fit course content and a variety of interests. You're responsible for transportation and transit costs to your Urban Service Learning placement. If you have a potential service site near home, speak to your professor for approval.
Benefits of Service Learning
- Affirms our identity as Christians to serve the community while learning
- Affirms the importance of experience and the value of integrating practical knowledge with formal training
- Enhances life, job, and career skills such as confidence, communication, and time management
- Develops social and interpersonal skills by working in groups with different generations
- Develops a sense of civic responsibility, a sensitivity to cultures, and an appreciation of cultural diversity
- Enriches the community by serving local organizations
Service Learning Dates
The Urban Service Learning course is usually during the winter term. It includes 30 hours of service in addition to scheduled class time. Placements usually begin the second week of class. All 30 hours must be completed by the last day of class. Service Learning hours are never scheduled on statutory holidays.
Schedule and Hours
You must sign an Hours Verification Form at each shift to document your service learning hours. Your site supervisor will initial the hours worked and evaluate your service. Return the form to your professor before the last day of class. Travel time does not count as service learning time. Some sites have their own volunteer sign in process which does not substitute for the Verification Forms.
Service Learning should be part of your weekly schedule, and treated like a job. If you can’t make it for any reason, contact your site supervisor ahead of time. Failing to do so will affect your grade.
You'll receive any changes in schedule by email. Check your email on the days you have service learning.
Internships
Gain valuable hands-on work experience and references that can help secure a job after graduation. Internships are an opportunity to apply what you've learned in class to your chosen work environment. You'll develop meaningful skills and connections that prepare you for your career.
Students in these programs have the option of taking an internship
Required Internship Hours
Academic credit with internships is based on the number of hours worked. An internship requires 90 hours. A third-year internship provides a closely supervised work experience in a field related to sociology or psychology. A fourth year internship provides a semi-independent work experience.
Internship Process
Internships are optional, and students are responsible for initiating the internship process. If you're interested in an internship:
- Contact your program head or the internship coordinator.
- Work with Booth UC faculty to find a placement that's right for you.
- Contact the organization to arrange any interviews or paperwork.
Your advisor can provide more detail about the internship process. If the organization accepts you as an intern, you must register for the appropriate internship course(s) (BHS 350, BHS 450, PSY 450).
Social Work Practicum Experience
Our Bachelor of Social Work program includes a practicum experience with two separate field placements. Depending on circumstances of admission or progression, students may be required to complete a concentrated single field placement.
During your time in the program, expect to gain at least 700 hours of practical field experience. When you graduate, you'll be prepared for practice in a variety of settings. Our emphasis on practical learning makes our graduates highly sought. Many are offered employment from their practicum placements. We have a unique approach to practicum placement. Our faculty are liaisons for all placements. Our field education coordinator works with you to find experiences that align with your passions and career goals.