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What is experiential learning?
Experiential learning is how you connect your work experiences to the knowledge and skills you learn in the courseroom. At Capella, there are different opportunities to earn credit toward your degree while getting real work experience. Explore Capella’s experiential learning opportunities: workplace learning, experiential partnerships, internships and Credit for Prior Learning.
Experiential learning opportunities
- How you’ll learn
- Why enroll in a course
- Examples of projects
Workplace learning
- Work on a real project from your place of employment rather than the projects provided in the courseroom
- You may or may not be collaborating with other employees at your workplace
Experiential partners
- Collaborate with other learners on real work projects at a workplace of a partner organization
- Follow a semi-structured approach to cooperate with and learn from one another
Internship
- Apply skills learned in your degree program and gain work experience while contributing to an organization
- Turn gained work experience into potential credit toward your degree
Credit for Prior Learning
- You may be eligible to earn credit by demonstrating relevant, college-level knowledge gained through work training, continuing education, self-instruction, professional certifications and other learnings
Workplace learning
- Use professional experience to potentially earn credits in specific courses
- Learn from and network with experts in your workplace
- Advance your skills through stretch assignments while working on your degree
- Practice soft skills like communication and teamwork
Experiential partners
- Gain experience in the workplace
- Explore new skills with the help of a team
- Apply and expand your skills through collaboration with other experts, functions and perspectives
- Practice soft skills like communication and teamwork
Internship
- Apply skills you’ve learned in a real workplace
- Build a network with other professionals
- Gain resume-ready experience
- Evaluate future career decisions based on exposure to new environments
- Practice soft skills like communication and teamwork
Credit for Prior Learning
- Potentially reduce the cost of your degree program
- Potentially reduce the time to complete your degree
Workplace learning
- Job shadow
- Current employer project
- Current employer stretch assignment
- Case studies
Experiential partners
- Group projects
- Case studies
- Employer partner project
Internship
- Reflection paper
- Portfolio of completed work
- Academic project
Credit for Prior Learning
- Credits earned through formal and informal work training
- Credits earned from completing professional certificates
- Credits earned for continuing education
Questions about experiential learning? Start here
- Immediately apply what you’ve learned to solve real-world challenges
- Access coaches and feedback from experts and fellow students in real time
- Practice soft skills like communication and teamwork
- Develop reflective practice habits to accelerate your progress as an expert in your area
- See your growth and accomplishments as you progress
At Capella, online learning can complement experiential learning in important ways. Where online courses provide new knowledge, experiential learning helps reinforce course content to make the material relevant. In the online courseroom, students can ask questions, give feedback and reflect on their real-world work. And new work skills – such as communication, leadership, time management and conflict resolution – can be a focal point for engagement and a sense of community in the courseroom.
Experiential learning means learning by doing – and reflecting on that experience to grow. At Capella, it means leveraging practical work experience to enhance what you’re learning in the courseroom. It’s a hands-on introduction to skills and knowledge that you could use in your career today or tomorrow. Capella’s experiential learning opportunities include workplace learning, experiential partner learning and internships. Whether you are developing new capabilities or transitioning into a new field, experiential learning can help you in expanding your skills.
Experiential learning provides an opportunity to gain relevant experience. Below are examples of ways you could potentially earn credit through experiential learning at Capella.
- Internships
- Case studies or stretch assignments at your current job
- Work projects with a Capella partner organization
How does experiential learning help students?
Experiential learning – and the reflection process – affords you many opportunities to grow. Learn to examine your thoughts, actions and emotional responses in real work situations. Gain insight into your own skills and career interests. Practice professional behaviors. And build the self-confidence that can help with your transition to your next career move.