achieving certification

The Civic Scholars program is based on a few basic principles:

• Civic engagement and academic work are mutually reinforcing.
• Meaningful and sustained involvement in community affairs while at Penn is the base for life-long civic commitments and contributions.
• Undergraduates can conduct significant applied public policy research through a multi-year preparatory process.
• Forming a community of dedicated students and faculty will insure distinctive civic service and scholarship.

The above principles have guided the design of the Civic Scholars Program and the requirements for certification. Students will be certified as Penn Civic Scholars at graduation after fulfilling the following:

1. Encouraged participation in PennCORP, a four-day program offered just before New Student Orientation that introduces students to the neighborhoods of Philadelphia, particularly those near the University, and urban challenges, responsive community organizations, and various faculty research projects at the University that address civic issues.
   
   
2. Participation during the freshman and sophomore years in a non-credit proseminar with faculty, guest speakers and community representatives. The proseminar is anticipated to meet four-five times per year. Currently planned themes for the coming academic years are: Citizenship: Past, Present, Future (2007-2008); Poverty and Policy (2008-2009); Public Schooling: Its Past and Future (2009-2010). Eventually, seniors in the program will present the results of their capstone project research in the proseminars.
   
   
3. Completion of five courses under the following categories:
   1. One social science methodology course (e.g., Sociology 100: Introduction to Sociological Research, Urban Studies 200: Introduction to Urban Research);
   2. Two Academically-Based Service (ABCS) courses or other approved courses incorporating academic work and service (e.g., Political Science 135: The Politics of Food, Environmental Studies 404: Urban Environments: Prevention of Childhood Lead Poisoning);
   3. One course that addresses a civic/social issue from a historical and/or international perspective (e.g., History 153: Urban Crisis, Political Science 414: Contemporary Politics of the Welfare State), and;
   4. One additional course of the student’s choosing that deals with the subject matter of the proposed capstone project.

   Full lists of courses will be provided students in the program and will be updated as courses change at the University. Courses will be selected in consultation with the director and academic advisor of the program.
   

4. Participation in community service or social advocacy work for a minimum of five semesters. During at least one of these semesters, the Civic Scholars should assume a leadership role.
   
   
5. Engagement in a full-time, subsidized summer internship in a non-profit, government or other public interest setting in the United States or abroad after the sophomore or junior years.
   
   
6. Completion of a capstone research project by April of the senior year. Students in the program will submit proposals for research projects at the beginning of the spring semesters of their junior years. They will be assigned faculty mentors to guide their research. The research project can be an extended paper for a course or a senior thesis submitted to the student’s major—in other words, it does not have to be a stand-alone project and can double-count. Although students will be encouraged to situate their research on such subjects as healthcare, education, housing, poverty, social stratification, and gender, racial and ethnic relations and divides in Philadelphia (or more specifically in the neighborhoods near the University), the research can be based internationally and/or historically. Civic Scholars will be required to report on their projects to the proseminar during their senior years. The final paper will contain public policy recommendations. Students will also write a shorter article derived from their research for publication in the Penn Civic Scholars position papers journal.

Anticipated Trajectory for a Civic Scholar’s Program:

Given the above expectations, there are a number of ways that a Civic Scholar may complete the program’s requirements; the grid below suggests just one path through which a student may fulfill them in the course of four undergraduate years: