The applied learning vision
Applied learning. Experience-based education. Student-centered instruction.
Regardless of what you call it, the approach to how we educate our students is transforming. Students benefit from a more hands-on approach to acquire the critical thinking skills needed to enter the workforce and be ready to make an impact.
Applied learning is not a new concept at Wichita State. For more than 35 years, we have been engaging students in cooperative education and internships. Students also gain applied learning experience through clinical placements, practicums, service learning, community service, civic engagement, creative works, research, entrepreneurship programs / projects, field studies, international and domestic travel/exchanges.
At Wichita State, we're always striving to create more applied learning opportunities. In fact, it's written directly into our vision to be “…internationally recognized as the model for applied learning and research,” and one of our strategic goals is to guarantee an applied learning or research experience for every student.
This approach is a key differentiator between us and many other universities, and it helps us recruit and retain more students who understand the competitive advantage it provides them.
Applied learning options available at WSU have been developed for the most part to provide hands-on experiences to practice a theory or skill after a student learns it in the classroom. Applied learning experiences, such as those championed on WSU's Innovation Campus with industry partners, engages students in applied learning opportunities early on in their educational experience, in some cases as a freshman.
See the Applied Learning pageThe information on this page is accurate as of July 9, 2018. Comment on this topic.