Bluffton University

Internships & service learning

At Bluffton, we encourage and offer opportunities for hands-on learning experiences. Take advantage of internships and research opportunities, engage in a service-learning experience and get the most out of your cross-cultural experience. 

Service-learning and cross-cultural options

Service-learning is a way of integrating classroom learning, personal growth and development and service to one's community. At Bluffton, you may engage in service-learnng through a general education or major-specific course. Or you may seek out short-term or semester-long service-learning opportunities.

• Individualized service/internship opportunities 
• The annual student-organized Cabaret for a Cause
  which benefits local non-profit organizations
• Service-learning projects are often a key component of Honors Program courses.
• The capstone course "Christian Values in a Global Community" asks students to integrate their liberal arts studies, cross-cultural experiences and disciplinary perspectives to find ethical responses to community problems
• An overarching Civic Engagement Theme is chosen each year to be woven into academic presentations, student-life activities and more. Previous themes have included environmental stewardship, public health, immigration and poverty.
  
  

Every Bluffton student benefits from cross-cultural learning which is a requirement for graduation. Many students complete this requirement though an international or domestic experience during the May term. Other students choose an in-depth immersion of a semster-long option. Students share about  their cross-cultural experience in a Forum presentation and photo contest.

• Stories of transformative experiences and life-long lessons from May 2018
• Stories from a semester in Washington D.C.
• Stories from a semester in Guatemala

Student research and internships

Enhance your learning experience by taking advantage of internship, practicum and field placement experiences. If you are interested, speak with a faculty member. They will work closely with you to find the best possible experience.

Many degree programs require an internship, practicum or field placement, but if your major does not, explore your own. We offer financial support for student learning experiences through Discovery Grants, Pi Delta Research Grant and/or the Ministry Inquiry Program.

STUDENTS HAVE GAINED EXPERIENCE THROUGH:

• Reading, pre-art therapy and criminal justice internships at the Allen County Juvenile Treatment and Detention Center.
• Researching biomimicry through the University of Akron's Research Experience for Undergraduates program.
• Immersive Spanish and medical internship in Peru.
• Undergraduate dietetics internships through the National Association of Colleges and University Food Services.
• Student teaching opportunities in partnership with the Chicago Center for Urban Life and Culture.
• Internships with regional leaders such as: Auto-Owners Insurance, Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, Fastenal, Lima Memorial Hospital, Marathon Petroleum Company, Owens-Illinois, Sherwin-Williams, Speedway LLC and St. Rita's Medical Center.
• Field placements at Crime Victim Services, Family Resource Center and Specialized Alternatives for Families and Youth (SAFY)
• Student teaching settings in districts in Northwest Ohio - large and small, private and public, rural and urban.
• Nationally competitive internships with organizations such as: Smithsonian Institution, the National Inventors Hall of Fame, United States Olympic Committee, Louisville Slugger and the Summer Educational Program in Neuropsychiatric Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School.