The Experiential Learning Continuum at Williams

The Williams approach to experiential learning is inclusive, academically rigorous, and holistic. We encourage and support the use of any of the experiential learning approaches in the college’s curriculum (problem-based learning (PBL), community-based learning (CBL), cooperative learning, etc,) as long as they are employed in academically rigorous ways. Williams’ homegrown version of experiential education, understood as “uncomfortable learning,” is also promoted by a specially selected faculty member, the Gaudino Scholar, with the support of the College’s Gaudino Fund.

We also encourage students to think of their community service and other work experiences as informal learning opportunities which can help prepare them for curricular experiential learning. The following continuum provides a visual representation of these practices, arraying experiential opportunities involving no formal analysis at the left moving to those in which formal analysis is of primary importance on the right.

Community Service/Community Engagement

Opportunities to apply creative energy and initiative abound in government and non-profit organizations in the communities surrounding the college.  Service ranges from local school tutoring, building homes with Habitat for Humanity, to working on an anti-hunger (Target Hunger) or community energy efficiency campaign (Take Charge). For more information, see the Office of Community Engagement.

OCC Summer Internships & Fellowships

Summer internship  and research fellowship opportunities are available to interested students through the Office of Career Counseling (OCC). Information about OCC’s Williams College alumni-sponsored summer internships can be found at http://www.williams.edu/go/careers/internship.php or by contacting Ron Gallagher, Assistant Director of Career Counseling. Information on summer research fellowships is available from Jody Spooner, Director of  Fellowships.

Department-sponsored Summer Internships

A wide variety of summer internship opportunities are available to interested students through the Center for Environmental Studies (CES) and the Economics Department. For more information about CES summer internship opportunities, visit the Student Opportunities section of the CES site, or contact Sarah Gardner, Assistant Director of the Center for Environmental Studies.  Information about the Economics Department’s Kershaw summer internships is available from Kathy Butterfield, Assistant to the Economics Department Chair (x2476).

Williams Instructional Technology Program

Student interns are trained and work  during the summer on projects for faculty from various disciplines. The projects involve a wide range of technologies including video, graphic design and web development. See http://oit.williams.edu/wit/ for more information.

Summer Research Work

Students work with faculty on research projects.  Information on Humanities and Social Science opportunities can be found at or by contacting Associate Dean of the Faculty, John Gerry. For more information, visit the Information on Natural Science research opportunities or contact Science Center Director Chip Lovett.

Winter Study Courses & Independent Study 99s

Students can take a Winter Study course involving experiential learning. “Pick-your-own fieldwork” course options include PSYC 18- Psychology in Action and PSCI 021- Fieldwork in Public and Private Non-Profits. Students can create their own experiential independent winter study project (WSP 99) under the guidance of a faculty sponsor. For help sorting out options, students should contact Paula Consolini, Coordinator of Experiential Education.

Semester Courses

Williams currently offers a variety of courses involving some form of experiential learning during the fall and spring semesters.  Longstanding community-based fieldwork courses include PSYC 352 Clinical and Community Psychology and ENVI 302 Environmental Planning Workshop.

Study Away Programs

Williams-Mystic, the college’s hands-on maritime studies experiential learning program  based at Mystic Seaport in  Mystic, CT and Williams in New York, a pilot urban studies program featuring fieldwork integrated with tutorials.