Academic Civic Engagement

Civic engagement addresses social, political, and environmental issues in the community through actions that can make a difference on those issues, including service, advocacy, awareness-raising, activism, action-oriented research, deliberative dialogue, electoral participation, and political involvement. We often refer to the Social Change Wheel to describe the variety of activities that fall under the umbrella of civic engagement at Pacific University.

Students integrate civic engagement into their academic experience in many ways. In the College of Arts & Sciences, students have a core requirement for Civic Engagement (CE).

Civic Engagement Core Requirement

The Undergraduate Core is at the center of a Pacific University liberal arts experience. Civic Engagement is one of the "Applications" cores - these requirements let you apply your disciplinary (major) and interdisciplinary (core) knowledge to social, environmental, and political issues in the real world. 

The Civic Engagement Core Requirement can be fulfilled by taking a CE-designated course or by completing an independent CE project or internship (PACU 276 or PACU 476). We recommend that students look first for courses that are in their major or minor program of study, then look for courses that will be interesting and will help them explore career or personal goals, and finally consider a course in which they will feel motivated to explore the topic.

A full list of offered courses can be found in the academic catalog and all upcoming civic engagement classes can be found on BoxerOnline using the "Course Designation" selection tool.

If no currently available courses meet a student's needs, it is possible to propose a 2-4 credit project to fulfill this requirement. There needs to be sufficient justification for a project in lieu of a course and a faculty sponsor is required as well as approval by the Director of Applied and Experiential Learning. Academic Advisors can advise on this alternative and support the course selection process, as can the staff of the MCCE if you have questions about what option would be the best fit for you. 

To learn more about the many types of CE Courses at Pacific, visit CE Courses.

To learn more about the funding and scholarships available to support your academic civic engagement, visit CE Scholarships and Funding. 

To learn more about what quality civic engagement looks like at Pacific, visit Quality Civic Engagement.