Put your ideas and skills to the test in a real-world setting.
Experiential learning (or hands-on learning) is a core element of the liberal arts and sciences education you'll receive at Mount Allison.
With experiential learning opportunities in every degree, our Experiential Learning and Career Development Office will help you create experiences that match your interests and style of learning.
You'll develop skills that you can apply to the workforce, make important networking connections, and figure out just what the future may hold for you.
Undergraduate research
At Mount Allison you'll get the chance to take part in innovative research projects as early as second year, a rarity at the undergraduate level. You'll have ample opportunities to work with world-class professors on research, including employment as summer research assistants.
Research is not just for Science students! There are research opportunities in most of our 50+ programs. Check out our 50+ programs for more details.
Independent student research grants also provide students with funding to conduct their own, independent research or creative activity project during the summer before entering their last year of study.
Examples of students doing research
- Behavioural ecologist looks at the lives of amphibians and reptiles
- Mount Allison student summer research looking at climate change, planning through different lenses
- Biochemistry student Sam McGaw spending summer studying heart health
- Mount Allison class partnering with Town of Sackville for survey around street names, monuments
Learn more about student research
Internships
Mount Allison offers exceptional opportunities to join businesses and organizations locally and internationally for paid internships that will allow you to gain hands-on experiences. Internships are open to students from all disciplines and academic years.
Internships are available full-time during the summer and part-time during the academic year.
Examples of student internships
- Mount Allison students gain valuable work experience locally with support of Future NB, Future Wabanaki
- The CHMA Spoken Word Internship will make even more experiential learning opportunities available to students
- The Lassonde Internship Program is delivering life-changing experiences to students and enabling partnerships with premier Canadian arts institutions
Other hands-on learning opportunities
Our experiential learning opportunities don't stop there! Connect your academic learning with realistic situations through experiential learning activities in every program.
Community partnerships and volunteering
Mount Allison's close-knit and engaging community extends across campus and beyond. For a small town, there are big opportunities to immerse yourself.
Our Community Engaged Learning program also offers community partnerships with academic instruction, integrating academic learning with community service.
Examples:
Entrepreneurship
Mount Allison allows students to grow through entrepreneurial ventures in both the classroom and through funding opportunities to help you take your ideas and make them a reality.
Our new VentureSpace, an entrepreneurship thinking incubator, will help you build the foundation for a viable venture.
Examples:
- Commerce student Bryden MacDonald partners with Town of Sackville and Experiential Learning to create Maritime Paddle
- Student launches middle-grade novel about stuttering — thanks to Reisman entrepreneurship funding
- Enactus Mount Allison's Enviroot project aims to produce sustainable building materials derived from orange peels
Field work
You and your classmates can take trips to labs, aid organizations, businesses, and even mountaintops around the world and come face-to-face with today's realities. You'll gain a wide perspective and even create valuable professional networks for the future.
Examples:
- Behavioural ecologist looks at the lives of amphibians and reptiles
- The Business of Aviation: New Partnership with WestJet Airlines
Independent study
In your upper years, it is possible, in consultation with your department and with a faculty supervisor, to create your own independent study course on a topic that complements your degree and matches your specific goals.
Examples:
- Mount Allison PPE student turns interest in environmental justice, climate change into independent study
- Psychology student examines employee motivation and well-being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic
Peer tutoring and teaching assistantships
Many students take advantage of opportunities to work during the academic year as teaching or research assistants, acquiring valuable skills.
Examples:
Recitals, performances, and art exhibits
Between the Music department (hosting more than 80 student, faculty, and guest concerts each year) and the Drama program (performing in our state-of-the-art Motyer-Fancy Theatre), students are given ample opportunity to perform on a regular basis.
The Purdy Crawford Centre for the Arts and other student-run exhibition spaces also give students the opportunity to exhibit a wide range of artwork.
Examples:
- Mount Allison Fine Arts class captures individual COVID-19 experiences through digital photos
- Lassonde Curatorial Internship program delivering life-changing experiences to students
- Audiences return in record numbers to drama production at Mount Allison
- Fine Arts student Libbie Farrell’s artwork featured in LA show
Student conferences and competitions
Learn from others and share your own work at student conferences, and even win an award or two.
You can also put your knowledge to work on real-world issues in case competitions.
Examples:
- Mount Allison physics student earns students' choice award at CUPC conference, preparing to speak at international collaboration meeting
- Commerce student pens children’s book, invited to present at international conference on queer and transgender studies in religion
- Mount Allison Aviation student named Atlantic regional winner for Webster Memorial Trophy Competition
Learn more about experiential learning opportunities
International experiential learning experiences
Study abroad and exchange programs are about so much more than just travel. They offer a chance for you to take new and interesting courses, learn a different language, experience another culture, make friends from around the globe, and learn a lot about yourself ― all while working towards your Mount Allison degree.
International experiences at Mount Allison also include:
- summer field schools
- independent study and undergraduate research
- international paid internships
- conferences
- volunteering
Experiential learning news
