Lougheed Learning Commons, Suite 107
(315) 267-2507
SUNY Potsdam is home to the Lougheed Center for Applied Learning, the first integrated academic opportunity center of its kind in SUNY. Our formal mission is to provide coordinated experiential learning opportunities that broaden and integrate students’ knowledge and skills, to foster self-discovery for engaged and life-long academic, personal, and career success.
The informal heart of what we do is to help students Explore, Experience, Reflect, and Become… and then do it all again! The offices of the Lougheed Center for Applied Learning are here to help you get the most of your time at Potsdam, and welcome your visits and calls.
Career Services
Contact: career@potsdam.edu
Career development is a lifelong process and begins well before entering the job market, through one’s exploration of aptitude, abilities, and values. Enhancement of one’s professional journey can start right here in the Lougheed Center for Applied Learning, where students can gain access to opportunities and support with articulating their experiences. Students are encouraged to make contact with Career Services early and often to access the resources and individual career coaching offered. Career coaches are available to administer career interest inventories that are key to helping students identify what types of careers best fit their interests, values, personality and skills. These inventories lead students in selecting the right majors. Career coaches also assist students in preparing for internships and job opportunities that will build skills and knowledge beyond the classroom to apply their learning to real world, hands-on experiences.
When students meet with a career coach early in their college career, they will be well on their way to developing a plan that strengthens their academic experience through exploration, skill development, and job or graduate school preparation.
Career Services offers a number of services depending on the individual or group need, including:
- Individualized Career Coaching Appointments
- Career and Major Exploration
- Self-Assessment Tools
- On and Off Campus Job Search Databases
- Resume and Cover Letter Critiques
- Tips on Networking
- Interview Prep and Mock Interviews
- Job Search Strategies
- Graduate School Application Assistance
- Personal Branding/LinkedIn Advice
- Professional Development Resources
- Campus Workshops and Classroom Presentations
- Employer Recruitment Visits
- Senior Series Career Prep Workshop
- Major and Career Exploration Course (2-Credits)
For more information and to access our resources, please visit www.potsdam.edu/career.
Experiential Education
Contact Person: Toby White, whitetj@potsdam.edu
The Experiential Education Office (EEO) administers the College-wide Internship Program, Law Enforcement Training Institute (LETI), and Volunteer Program, and assists in the development of community service sites for the Service-Learning Program.
- The Internship Program allows students to earn 1-12 academic credits for interning at a work site related to their major under the guidance of a faculty sponsor, combining career-related experience with academic learning. The internship may be completed in the Fall, Spring, or Summer semester and may be paid or unpaid. For more information, including internship opportunities, academic guidelines, student guidelines, forms and deadlines, please visit www.potsdam.edu/eeo.
- The Law Enforcement Training Institute (LETI) is a landmark applied learning initiative, designed to provide students with the opportunity to complete a rigorous pre-employment, state approved police training course (Police Academy) as part of their undergraduate curriculum.
- The Service-Learning Program combines classroom instruction with organized service activity, enabling students to deepen their learning, to see course content in a wider community context, and to develop essential skills for becoming aware and active citizens. Students may locate a list of Service-Learning (SL) courses available each semester by searching the class schedule.
- The Volunteer Program is available for students to volunteer in the community or on the SUNY Potsdam campus. Students can use Handshake to look for local agencies that host volunteer opportunities.
- The Experiential Education Office also offers the following resources to students: a searchable database called Handshake to access internship sites; several internship and employer internship search engines; and much more.
For more information on our experiential education programs and services, and to access our many resources, please visit http://www.potsdam.edu/eeo.
International Education & Programs
Contact Person: Krista LaVack, lavackkm@potsdam.edu
The Office of International Education & Programs (IEP) sponsors study abroad programs for SUNY Potsdam students wishing to spend part of their academic career abroad, serves as host to international students who come to study at SUNY Potsdam, and provides advice and assistance to students, faculty and staff who are interested in the inclusion of an international dimension to their study, teaching, and/or research.
- Study abroad, exchange and international internship programs are an integral part of the SUNY Potsdam academic climate. Students may choose from College administered programs in United Kingdom, Germany, Mexico, Sweden, or Jamaica, as well as other countries. There are also more than 800 study abroad programs available through the SUNY study abroad consortium. In a world where one U.S. job in six is tied to international trade, the U.S. increasingly needs people with global competence and language skills. Students that study abroad, even for a short period, report life-changing personal growth, enhanced focus on academics, and acquisition of important personal and professional skills. For more information, please visit www.potsdam.edu/international.
- The National Student Exchange Program (NSE) is an organization of state colleges and universities throughout the United States, its territories, and Canada. NSE’s primary purpose is to provide domestic exchange opportunities at institutions of higher learning in different geographical locations. NSE is a way for students to experience new curricular options as well as a means to enjoy an alternate social and living environment. For participating institutions, NSE is a way to expand academic offerings by providing a greater scope and variety of courses. NSE offers students the opportunity to study in another educational setting; to live in a new cultural and geographical environment; to sample diverse course offerings; and to link into study abroad, internship or field experience options not available at the home campus.
- Faculty-led Travel Courses, as well as independent study opportunities, are available during the Winter and Summer Sessions. These courses vary in areas of study and destination (domestic and international). For more information, please visit www.potsdam.edu/travel.
Office for Student Research and Creativity
Contact Person: Dr. Thomas N. Baker, bakertn@potsdam.edu
The Office for Student Research and Creativity coordinates SUNY Potsdam’s honors curriculum and supports co-curricular research and creative collaborations and mentorships among students and faculty members.
The office oversees the following programs:
- The Honors Program offers high-impact learning courses for its students and intellectual enrichment for the campus community at large. The Honors Program curriculum features two tracks: General Honors (primarily for first- and second-year students); and Advanced Honors (exclusively for Juniors and Seniors). The curriculum is flexible, and students are encouraged to pursue opportunities for independent research and creative endeavors.
National Merit Finalists and Semi-finalists, high school valedictorians and salutatorians, and incoming first-year students with a minimum high school GPA of 95 percent are invited to participate in General Honors. Incoming students who believe they are qualified for the Honors Program, but who do not meet the minimum GPA criteria, may also apply for admission to the Honors Director. Students who earn a minimum overall GPA of 3.50 during their first semester at SUNY Potsdam are invited to join the program in their second semester. Students in General Honors automatically qualify for admission to Advanced Honors, as do transfer students from community colleges who successfully complete an honors program as part of their two-year college degree, and transfer students from four-year colleges who successfully complete the first two years of an honors program at their previous institution.
Graduation with General Honors requires completion of the “General Honors Colloquium” (INTD 150 - 1 cr.) or an equivalent independent study (INTD 192 - 1 cr.), and three additional General Honors courses (9-12 credit hours), with a minimum overall GPA of 3.25 in honors courses and a minimum overall GPA of 3.0. Graduation with Advanced Honors requires satisfactory completion of the “Honors Research Colloquium” (INTD 450 - 1 cr.), a minimum overall GPA of 3.0, and satisfactory completion of an independent research or service project. Students who complete both General Honors and Advanced Honors curricula are recognized as SUNY Potsdam Distinguished Scholars. Honors students are awarded priority registration and opportunities for priority assignment to “study intensive spaces” in the residence halls (e.g., through the Honors FYE Floor and related programing designed for honors students) and the Lougheed Learning Commons.
For further information, consult www.potsdam.edu/honors.
- The Presidential Scholars Program offers special opportunities for talented and motivated SUNY Potsdam students to expand their educational horizons. The program provides support to those whose breadth of experience and diverse interests might otherwise go unrecognized. Scholars use the program’s support to conduct extensive research on a topic of their choosing, enroll in coursework offered by other colleges that is not available at SUNY Potsdam, and travel to conferences to present their work. Scholars are entitled to priority registration for classes each semester; one-on-one work with a faculty mentor; and a guaranteed annual stipend for directed project support.
Presidential Scholars are selected on the basis of academic excellence, a commitment to individual intellectual goals, and a willingness to share their endeavors with the community. Students are eligible to apply for admittance to the program in the Fall semester after completing at least 30 credit hours at SUNY Potsdam and a minimum GPA of 3.5. Students accepted into the program, following the application and interview process, will have at least four full semesters remaining at SUNY Potsdam. Eligible students will be notified by mail.
More information, along with descriptions of current and past projects, may be found online at www.potsdam.edu/presidentialscholars.
- Endowment-funded Kilmer Research Apprenticeships and other research endowments support short-term student-faculty collaborative projects during the academic year and Summer Session. These projects are eligible for competitive awards given at the Annual Learning and Research Fair. For further information, consult www.potsdam.edu/kilmer.
- The Student Fellowship Program assists students in preparing for nationally competitive awards such as the Fulbright Marshall, Jack Kent Cooke, and Boren scholarships. These awards are for students planning graduate opportunities in research, teaching English abroad, or language enhancement for languages critical to U.S. interests. Students should contact the Office for Student Research and Creativity early in their academic program to learn more about developing a plan during their undergraduate years, making connections with faculty, and pursuing research experiences. National scholarships are available for all areas of academic study. Most awards require an on-campus interview and college endorsement of the application. Information about the specific awards may be found at www.potsdam.edu/academics/specialprograms/fellowships.
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