Community engagement is more than volunteering your time for a few hours here and there. It is more than doing service that makes you feel good and deeper than addressing surface-level community challenges. Community engagement means truly understanding the fabric of a community, the interconnections among our various communities, and both the challenges and assets associated therein.

University Honors students are encouraged to hone their understanding of community engagement as they pursue our requirements, and this page provides some starter resources for doing so. For incoming students this page provides insight into what the program has to offer and examples of opportunities. For current students this is a place to explore new theories, readings, and other information as you design and reflect on your community engagement experiences.

When considering a community engagement experience or reflecting on one that has already taken place, student projects should result in substantial learning through which progress is made towards meeting one or more of the following community engagement learning objectives:

• Possesses awareness of purpose of service, including need for reciprocity, understanding of social issues, and ability to see those issues from multiple perspectives
• Recognizes how public policies and practices, and power and privilege, have an influence on social issues. Explores ways to alter public policy and/or identify solutions
• Relates, communicates, and works effectively with others towards sustainable social change
• Participates in community and understands own role as citizen of community

Community Engagement Opportunities within University Honors

• Making Wishes Come True pre-approved experience with travel to Florida
• Alternative Spring Break in Rural Appalachia
• Nicaraguan Culture and Social Service Study Tour
• Integrated Approach to International Development: India
• Exploring Community Engagement: Cincinnati (HNRS2040)
• Beyond IQ: Developing and Applying Emotional Intelligence (HNRS3040)
• Youth Abuse: Adolescent and Child Abuse in Literature, Film, and Reality (ENGL3092)

Community Engagement Opportunities on Campus

• Center for Community Engagement 
• Center for Service-Learning and Civic Engagement
• Serve Beyond Cincinnati 
• Engineers Without Borders