At the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, we make it our mission to create an environment where students will have access to a broad range of opportunities to enrich and build their own academic experiences. For this reason we have developed a four-point strategy to encourage students to make college happen for them–to remind them not to let it happen to them. We want our students to find the transformative learning experiences that cater to their goals, interests, and skills. Here is how all HSS students can accomplish that:
Ex: Explore
We want students to explore their own interests within and beyond the curriculum. This means, especially in the freshman and sophomore year, taking a broad range of courses (which fulfills liberal learning requirements) in order to find the major that most fits their interests and passions. “Students who love their major get higher grades and students who get higher grades have more special opportunities,” explained Benjamin Rifkin, Dean of HSS. He continued, “But we also want students to explore the College beyond the academic programs. This means finding a student organization or club that has special meaning for them, a place where they can grow their leadership skills.” The main idea here is to find a student organization to identify with and use it as a vehicle for personal and professional development–while adding to the value of the organization.
C: Contribute
For this aspect, our goal is to urge student involvement not only outside of the classroom but, especially, in organizations that make a contribution to the larger community, in accordance with the College’s mission to educate students to “advance and sustain their communities.” With these sorts of experiences, Dean Rifkin explains, comes “the Grinch Effect.” This refers to when the Grinch learns about the value of community, his heart “grows 3 sizes.” This is how we want our students to feel when they volunteer at the local soup kitchen or group home, conduct a research internship with a local non-profit, or help prison inmates achieve a GED.
E: Engage
Our students have a tremendous and rare opportunity to engage in undergraduate research here. We encourage all students to talk with their faculty about their academic interests because often there will be opportunities to engage in research with the faculty members. In fact, we have on campus a cross-discipline program called the MUSE (Mentored Undergraduate Summer Experience) in which students pair up with faculty to conduct research on a diverse array of subjects. But undergraduate research can occur during the academic year, too. Students need only ask their faculty to learn about these opportunities.
L: Learn Away
Dean Rifkin explained that “It’s not enough to study in the classroom on campus: we want our students to ‘go away,’ to learn in non-campus environments – whether across the globe on study abroad, in Washington, DC, on one of our domestic study away programs, or in Trenton in an internship.”
In national surveys of students about to enter college, more than 80% of claim interest in studying abroad, yet fewer than 2% actually do it. Moreover, only a fraction of that percentage study in non-English-speaking countries. Therefore, in HSS we encourage our students not only to study abroad, but to do so as well in another language. Research on study abroad shows that study abroad increases creativity, a skill employers seek when they are looking to hire new staff. Dean Rifkin noted that “in over 25 years of sending students on study abroad across the planet, I find that every single student comes back ‘wowed’ by the experience.” Of course, TCNJ students interested in study abroad or domestic study away should visit the Center for Global Engagement in 111 Green Hall.
The other facet of “Learning Away” is the internship opportunity. Every HSS major has the opportunity for a credit-bearing internship: just ask your faculty advisor or department chair. In addition, some students seek non-credit-bearing internships. These are available through the Career Center. HSS students intern in the public, private, and non-profit sectors, in mainstream media organizations ESPN, large businesses such as Johnson & Johnson and JP Morgan & Chase, NJ State government offices, federal government offices, and non-profit agencies, especially in Trenton.