COURSE DESCRIPTION

The Practicum Course combines an experiential element with a classroom component. The experiential element can one of the following:

  • an internship (with internship placement, customized to students´ academic background, professional goals and previous knowledge and experience, in consultation with Cultural Vistas).
  • a community-based service-learning experience (placement at a community service institution, again customized to students´ academic background, professional goals and previous knowledge and experience, in consultation with Cultural Vistas or one of the local volunteer centers and NGO organizations in Hamburg).
  • or a self-designed classroom research project (project-based, applied learning option in which students describe a challenging problem and analyze and discuss potential solutions, to be drafted by the student in consultation with the instructor and local experts in the respective field.)

Students share the classroom component which provides theoretical background to, and room for reflection on, the experiential learning experience.

While this section serves as the backbone of the classroom component, a second section offers an introduction to the host city / country and some of the social challenges it is facing, thus aiming at deepening students´ observations and putting them into perspective.

All students work towards a final project which will present the outcome of their practicum experiences.