The AST is an off-campus learning experience for undergraduates. It is a unique opportunity for students to apply theory, expand knowledge, and determine additional learning needs in a variety of “real-life” situations.
It is also a time to explore career possibilities and prepare for life in the “real” world. AST can take the form of an internship, a project with a university professor, travel, or study abroad with your academic advisor’s approval.
Students enrolled in AST are required to learn consciously from their experience and to mesh their practical knowledge with their formal education by pursuing six AST goals:
Career Education—Explore or confirm career choices through self-knowledge and the use of career assessment and planning skills.
Cultural Diversity—Develop an awareness and appreciation of people from many backgrounds and experiences and learn to apply sensitivity to cultural differences.
Engaged Citizenship—Become responsible citizens by identifying issues of social concern and developing skills for effective participation.
Personal Growth/Skill—Use Applied Study as an opportunity for better understanding the ways to personal growth and increased self-knowledge.
Self-Directed Learning—Engage in planning and evaluation essential to the learning experience in order to develop skills of self-directed, life-long learning.
Theory - Practice—Relate theory and practice by learning ways to apply, integrate, and evaluate knowledge and the methods of academic disciplines.
