Experiential Learning and Internships

You are here

Ingrained in Lehigh University’s history and culture is a natural strength for experiential education. Articulated in its vision statement, Lehigh prepares graduates to engage with the world and live lives of meaning.  Lehigh places great value on high impact educational practices and offers robust opportunities for hands-on learning through community-based learning, creative inquiry, entrepreneurial experiences, global learning, internships and micro-internships, and research. These practices offer diverse and rigorous opportunities to learn actively in real world scenarios and challenge students to apply and deepen their knowledge and understandings. 

The team in the Career Center is privileged and proud to encounter the personal development, intellectual curiosity, and collaborative skills of Lehigh students developed through high impact experiential education. The unique skills, perspectives, and competencies gained and nurtured through experiential learning are especially critical as students prepare for their lives after Lehigh and become members of a global workforce and academic communities. 

It is with this in mind that Lehigh University is thrilled to be the first University to recognize learning and skills developed through high impact experiential education with Blockcert digital credentials. A blockcert credential is instantly verifiable, easily shared and stored, and certifies the unique competencies and skills students have developed that are desirable in the workforce. Blockcerts put students in charge of their own learning records and celebrate the personal, professional, collaborative, and intellectual learning gained through experiential education.  To learn more about recognizing experiential learning through Blockcert Digital Credentials click here.

 

Lehigh 360:Opportunities for Experiential Learning

 

Internships

At Lehigh, we view internship opportunities as a critical aspect of connection for students in the workplace. Internships are professional learning experiences, provided and supported by employers in the field, to offer meaningful work in the professional world that is related to a student’s field of study or career interests. 

Experiences defined through the internship structure may be short-term project based opportunities known as micro-internships or more long-term assimilations through placements within an organization that are meant to immerse students into the work and culture of the company.  In either structure, the end result is the creation of valuable learning experiences for our students to integrate and connect their learning with practical application in the professional world and support for the identified work needs of employers. Internships are an integral part of experiential learning opportunities for our students and serve to create connections between students and employers. 

Through internships, employers are provided with the opportunity to witness first hand the work product, demonstration of core competencies, and soft skills of our student interns.  Internship opportunities are a powerful resource for employers as they look to hire the best and brightest new graduates as future employees for their companies. Internships can be used to help discover new talent and increase the pipeline of Lehigh students within companies and organizations.