Community Engagement and Learning (CEL-2)

The Community Engagement and Learning requirement (CEL-2) encourages students to design opportunities to build community and seek innovative ways to address critical needs as defined by communities and organizations in and outside the College.

In keeping with our educational mission, Hampshire expects all students to contribute something of value to the larger College community and encourages them to “advance the cause of social justice and the well-being of others.”

A commitment to engaged scholarship also emerges from Hampshire’s distinctive pedagogy, which stresses the importance of critical inquiry and the development of knowledge that enables students to participate responsibly in a complex world.

CEL-2 expects students to:

• Begin a conversation with your Division II committee about your ideas and interests for CEL
• Identify potential sponsors/organizations to learn of their project needs
• Negotiate with a sponsor to help address that community-defined need (on- or off-campus)
• Collaborate with a project supervisor who will verify the work
• Engage in at least 40 hours of CEL-2 projects (equivalent to a course)
• Write an essay that reflects on your learning
• Complete the online contract process on TheHub

Tips for successful CEL-2 projects:

• Work with committee and campus resources to find interesting opportunities
• Design projects that are applicable to academic work and Division II concentration
• Engage in socially responsible community work
• Collaborate to create work that is mutually beneficial to students and community
• Document and reflect on CEL-2 work throughout Division II
• Sustain engagement with projects and develop ways for the work to be continued
• Incorporate documentation and reflective writing into Division II Portfolio

Examples of CEL-2 projects:

• Internships with organizations in local, national, or international settings
• Hampshire program-sponsored partnership placements
• Academic courses with a community-based learning core component
• Mentoring projects (e.g. teaching assistant, ESL, K-12 school tutoring)
• Applied leadership work with campus organizations
• Apprenticeships in fields of academic study