Beyond the Classroom

Education at Emmanuel College bridges the classroom with the wider world with opportunities for internships, travel, service and more.

• Service Learning
• Study Abroad
• Internships

Service Learning

All of the world’s great religious traditions call on their adherents to care for the poor. And as a department rooted in the Catholic social justice tradition, we seek to inspire our students to share our commitment to improving the lives of those in need through direct service as well as work for social change. Boston is full of opportunities to serve, and Emmanuel students are involved in many ways.

Students in classes such as Prof. Johnston’s Love & Justice: An Introduction to Christian Ethics do service as part of their coursework. This means several hours a week helping in a soup kitchen, homeless shelter, job training program, or inner-city school. Being in direct contact with people who are poor brings a new depth to class discussions about what Christian ethics has to say about many problems such as poverty, racism, and environmental degradation. When these problems are no longer just abstract ideas, students find that the world’s great religious traditions have much to offer in understanding and combating them.

Study Abroad

Emmanuel students have many options for studying theology and religion all over the world. Students wanting to take a short-term study trip can sign up for courses with Emmanuel’s own faculty members, such as India: Religion, Culture, Justice with Professor Sydnor and Religious Traditions of Rome [link to course description] with Professor Leclerc. Those wanting to spend a semester or more abroad can find many opportunities at the Colleges of the Fenway’s GEO center, located on Emmanuel’s campus.

Elyse Whitehead ’11 spent fall of her junior year studying Islamic Society and Politics in Meknes, Morocco and then traveled to Pune, India in the spring to study Development and Public Health.

Internships

80% of Emmanuel students do at least one internship, and the Internships and Career Development Office is the place to start. For her individualized major in Religious Studies, Chelsea Pingree ’09 did internships at Notre Dame Montessori School in Dorchester and the School of Peace in Jamaica Plain.