Notre Dame’s Center for Social Concerns supports a breadth of experiential and service-learning opportunities for students. Some of the more visible include:
Urban Plunge—A 48-hour winter seminar that introduces students to problems faced by American cities and their residents. The center currently lists 32 plunge sites in 26 cities from Boston to San Diego.
Immersion seminars—One-credit immersion seminars that take place during University breaks. Students prepare for the week-long programs with readings and discussions. In 2007, students may spend fall break in Appalachia, Chicago, Cincinnati or Washington, D.C., working and visiting organizations that address issues ranging from rural poverty, racism and energy policy to life issues and youth violence. Seminars in the spring have taken students to domestic sites and to Mexico and Chile. The center also supports six-day winter seminars on community organizing in Chicago, Holy Cross parish outreach in Phoenix and immigration in El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
Summer Service Learning Program—An eight-week course linking students with people in need through agencies across the United States. Students earn a scholarship and three credits in theology through their participation, which begins with orientation in the spring, continues with their service, reading and writing in the summer, and concludes with wrap-up sessions in the fall.
International Summer Service Learning Program—Open to students as a way of extending domestic service-learning experiences. Students travel abroad to serve and to learn about the causes of poverty and injustice in other countries. Students receive a modest living stipend and may earn as many as five credits for their course work.