THE FUTURE OF WORK
Experiential Learning Requirements
An exciting experiential learning requirement
* Every business and design student powers their degree with hands‑on, real‑world experience — an essential part of College of Business curricula that goes beyond the classroom. The benefit of the experiential learning requirement is twofold: you graduate with career skills, guaranteed; you earn academic credits for the time and effort you put into leadership activities, extra experiences and other initiatives that reflect an educational objective.
You can fulfill this requirement through a variety of means, through whatever excites you: a scheduled course, an internship, a study abroad or perhaps by completing a professional certificate. Even your on-campus job can apply, if it is related to your major program of study. It depends on your major and what you plan for with your advisor.
* Current students: MyDegrees, your academic planning tool, will reflect whether the experiential learning requirement is needed for your degree program. For certain majors, the requirement will not be activated yet.
Flexible & functional
Ways to earn your experiential learning requirement
Your experiential learning "experience" may be taken for credit (and you’ll pay tuition for these credits) or with zero credit (you’ll not pay, if you do not need the additional credits to graduate). The College of Business calls for the equivalent of two credit hours — or about 60 hours of work — to complete your experiential learning requirement. But your internship, leadership activity, research project, etc. could be scored with higher credits, depending on the nature of the project and the time needed for completion.
Here are a few ways to approach the requirement:
Important planning information
Academic planning for experiential learning
To make your plan seamless, connect with your academic advisor to understand credit requirements for your major and how these will apply to your degree plan. Keep track in MyDegrees! Some current students won't need to fulfill an experiential learning requirement.
Registering your internship
If you are using an internship to fill the requirement, an important process is registering the internship experience. This is a multi-step process that includes securing an internship, logging information in Handshake and securing a CRN for course registration. Don't skip this page!
Supervised work
Independent projects, such as research, certifications or other qualifying activities, require an approval step to support the defined work. A departmental reviewer evaluates requests for program fit, appropriate scope, and sufficient hours/credits, and follows up with students to verify the project work.
program requirements
Curriculum tables by major
Stay informed in MyDegrees and review your major program's curriculum table while planning your experiential learning requirement. This will help prepare for your discussion with your academic advisor. Some opportunities, like international study or the MECOP internships, take advance planning, and many require approval steps.
Accounting | Apparel Design | Business Administration | Business Analytics | Business Information Systems | Design & Innovation Management | Finance | Hospitality Management | Innovation & Entrepreneurship | Interior Design | Marketing | Organizational Leadership | Product & Merchandising Management | Sports Business | Supply Chain & Logistics Management
Experiential learning credits
Learning opportunities by major
Here is a closer look at additional learning opportunities that can fulfill your experiential learning requirement, depending on your major program of study.
special topics
Accounting majors
Students majoring in accounting can take program-approved special topics such as ACTG 499: Navigating Professions. Connect with Sid Elliott with questions.
PRIME
Organizational leadership majors
Students majoring in organizational leadership complete a 4-credit PRIME experience related to their particular area of study.
Professional certifications
Supply Chain, Finance & BIS majors
Students majoring in supply chain & logistics management, finance or business information systems (BIS students, see table below) can complete a professional certification with a recognized professional association to fulfill the requirement.
+ More Courses
Organizational leadership majors
Students majoring in organizational leadership can take MGMT 450 Introduction to Mentoring & Coaching or MGMT 464 Project Management Practicum to fulfill the requirement.
Business Information Systems Majors
As a business information systems major, you can earn fulfill your experiential learning requirements and/or take a practicum by completing certifications with recognized professional organizations.. Below are the pre-approved certifications that you can pursue (with your learning agreement). If there is a professional certification you want to pursue that is NOT listed, please connect with Professor Nicholas Roberts to discuss the approval process and earn credits.
Certificate Provider BIS Practicum CompTIA Network+ CompTIA BIS 421 ISACA Cybersecurity Fundamentals ISACA BIS 422 CompTIA Security+ CompTIA BIS 422 Google Cybersecurity Google BIS 422 ISACA IT Audit Fundamentals ISACA BIS 423 ISACA IT Risk Fundamentals ISACA BIS 423 HPE Aruba Networking Certified Campus Access Associate HPE BIS 421