Service-Learning for Students
Volunteer in your Brevard County community through the service-learning program at Eastern Florida State College! Review all the details below and then follow the steps to apply for service-learning.
In addition to giving back to your community, service-learning can help you:
- Develop skills you learned in the classroom,
- Make professional contacts,
- Enhance your resume,
- Improve your self-esteem, and
- Increase your civic knowledge.
If you've documented a minimum of 75 hours of service and have at least a 2.5 GPA, you're also eligible to apply for service-learning scholarships.
Those who excel at service-learning might be eligible to pursue our Citizen Scholar distinction.
Types of Service-Learning
There are three ways to incorporate service-learning into your EFSC experience once you've signed up with the Center for Service-Learning and Civic Engagement:
- Service-Learning Courses
- Service-Learning as a Course Component
- Field Studies: 4th/5th Credit Option
Service-learning courses are dedicated, stand-alone courses with a service element already built into them. They are listed in the EFSC Class Schedule and course catalog under the course prefix SOW:
- SOW 1051 Human Service Experience 1
- SOW 1052 Human Service Experience 2
- SOW 1053 Human Service Experience 3
- SOW 2054 Community Involvement
- SOW 2054H Honors Community Involvement
More than 150 EFSC faculty members offer service-learning as a component in their courses, which cover a range of different topics. These instructors award course credit (and sometimes extra credit) for service-learning hours you perform in the community. Note that the hours you complete for one class cannot be used to fulfill the requirement for another class.
The CSLCE's instructor list provides an up-to-date account of which classes include a service-learning component each term, but be sure to check with your instructors, too:
4th and 5th credit option courses, which are available in a variety of different disciplines, give you the opportunity to earn an extra credit hour (with a separate grade) on your academic transcript. You can take up to three of these courses during your academic career.
To register for this option, you must enroll in one of the instructor's regular classes, plus one of the following:
- SOW 2948 Service-Learning Field Studies 1
- SOW 2948 Honors Service-Learning Field Studies 1
Requirements:
- Community service-learning (20 hours minimum)
- Attendance at a reflection seminar hosted by the CSLCE
- Written reflection assignments or presentations as determined by your faculty instructor
How to Get Involved
Follow the steps below to apply for service-learning, using the forms and documents linked to from each step to complete any required paperwork. You can also access key documents through the dropdown list.
Service-Learning Documents
- Online Service-Learning Application
- PDF Service-Learning Application
- Release from Liability Form
- Community Partner Link Directory
- In-Person SHOAT Criteria
- Virtual SHOAT Criteria
- Placement Confirmation Form
- 4th/5th Credit Option Contract
- 4th/5th Credit Overview
- 4th/5th Credit Checklist
- First Impressions Survey (Online)
- SHOAT Hour Log
- Multiple SHOAT Hour Log
- Mid-Semester Progress Report
- Service Learning Questionnaire (Online)
- Service Learning Questionnaire (Download PDF)
- Important Dates PDF
- SOW Course Descriptions
- Service-Learning Instructors List
Service-Learning Scholarships
We award service-learning scholarships annually. To be eligible to apply, you must be a full- or part-time EFSC student with a minimum overall GPA of at least 2.5, who has completed a minimum of 75 hours of documented service through the CSLCE. You must also have submitted a FAFSA for the current year and attend EFSC for the next academic year (two terms).
Click or tap on a scholarship to learn more:
Outstanding Student Humanitarian Scholarship
Application Deadline: March 31st
Additional Eligibility Requirements:
To apply for this scholarship, you must be a high school graduate or have obtained
GED certification.
Application Materials:
To apply, you must submit the following materials through the online application system
at the same time:
- Application
- An essay (500 words) entitled "My Humanitarian Service" that describes a significant humanitarian service you have performed; include the number of hours you spent doing the service and a description of the benefits to the community, the college, and yourself
- Your unofficial EFSC transcript (available via FloridaShines)
- Three letters of reference, including one from the site where you performed your humanitarian effort
- The $1,000 is to be used in one academic year ($500 for the Fall Term and $500 for the Spring Term)
- You must maintain a 2.5 GPA at EFSC to be eligible for the second term's scholarship
- If you fail to complete a term, you must repay the full amount of the scholarship award
On-Campus Community Service Scholarship
Application Deadline: March 31st
Application Materials:
To apply, you must submit the following materials through the online application system
at the same time:
- Application
- An essay (500 words) entitled "On-Campus Community Service" that describes a significant on-campus or community service you have performed; include the number of hours you spent doing the service and a description of the benefits to the community, the college, and yourself
- Your unofficial EFSC transcript (available via FloridaShines)
- Three letters of reference, including one from the site where you performed your community service
- The $500 is to be used in one academic year ($250 for the Fall Term and $250 for the Spring Term)
- You must maintain a 2.5 GPA at EFSC to be eligible for the second term's scholarship
- If you fail to complete a term, you must repay the full amount of the scholarship award
Citizen Scholar Program
Go above and beyond in the service-learning program, and you can graduate with the coveted Citizen Scholar distinction! Becoming a Citizen Scholar will enable you to:
- Enter the workforce with the skills to achieve and succeed
- Develop leadership skills by working with program staff and professionals at your placement site
- Become an active, lifelong learner
- Achieve personal growth
- Foster a working knowledge of the community, its needs, and how you can make a difference
Requirements
- 300 community service hours
- Completion of a reflection journal
- 3 service-learning class components OR 4th/5th credit hour options
- Community service academic class (3 credit hours)
- 3.0 cumulative GPA
- Integrative final essay
If you are interested in the Citizen Scholar program, contact the Center for Service-Learning and Civic Engagement for more information. You must meet all the requirements for the program at least one month prior to graduation. If you do so, you'll receive a cord of distinction for graduation, a special listing in the graduation program, service hours on your academic transcript, recognition at our annual volunteer recognition event, a letter from the College President, and a Citizen Scholar certificate.
Get In Touch
The Center for Service-Learning and Civic Engagement is centrally located on the Cocoa
Campus, but you can contact us no matter where you attend classes. Service-Learning staff are available Monday through Thursday from 8:30 AM to 4:30
PM. Be sure to check our Frequently Asked Questions page, too!
Main Service-Learning Phone Number: 321-433-7610
Erin Baird
Cocoa Campus
Bldg. 12, Rm. 305
bairde@easternflorida.edu
321-433-7613
Susan Slaton
Cocoa Campus
Bldg. 12, Rm. 306
slatons@easternflorida.edu
321-433-7611