Electives and Service-Learning Practicum

Electives

The communities of the Bay Area are home to a startling number of environmental organizations, institutions, and non-profits that offer world-renowned educational opportunities. Certificate students are able to fulfill elective requirements through local organizations that include, but are not limited to: the Environmental Forum of Marin, College of Marin, Farallones Institute, Lawrence Hall of Science, the Bay Institute, Save the Bay and PG&E Pacific Energy Center.

The specialized Electives component represents the bulk of our particpants' course work, allowing them to spend this valuable time developing the skills important to them. For a complete list of partnering organizations or more information about fulfilling elective requirements, please contact our office. Particpants are encouraged to identify other elective providers, including on-line course training, and work with our office to tailor the program to their interests.

Service-Learning Practicum (Internship or Capstone Project)

After completing a tailored course of electives described above, each student will work with Dominican University to plan a service-learning practicum (on-site internship or a capstone project). Service-learning integrates meaningful community work with academic curriculum-enriching learning through reciprocity: The community partners are co-educators, students are engaged citizens, and learning is enriched through the dynamic relationship between theory and practice.

The purpose of the service-learning practicum is to use the knowledge and skills gained in the student’s previous experiences to put them to use, effecting real change in both their own lives and the surrounding community before even graduating from the program.

Service-Learning Internship

In close collaboration with Strategic Energy Innovations (SEI), Dominican University has built a large network of partnering environmental organizations and civic bodies with which students can participate in service-learning opportunities. We ensure that students opting to complete a service-learning internship are able to do so with an organization engaged in the important work specific to the student's interests. This final program component will offer students the chance to gain real-world experience in their field. All service-learning internships require an "on-site" project to be completed under the supervision of the organization sponsoring the internship. After completion of the internship/on-site project and a final learning objective report, the participant is ready to graduate our program!

Capstone

Those opting to do a capstone project will design their project with the help of Dominican and SEI staff. This project can be devoted to a professional endeavor already underway, or can be designed from scratch with the help of Dominican and support from community partners. Depending on the scope of the project, participants can work on it alone or with fellow students and community partners. Examples of capstone projects have included: planning and implementation for greening the energy consumption of a business, implementing environmental curriculum into a classroom, and collaborating with a neighborhood committee to enhance the use and maintenance of a local park.