Santa Clara University
IN-2: Innovation 2

The Experiential Learning for Social Justice (ELSJ) requirement was introduced as a part of Santa Clara's new Undergraduate Core Curriculum in Fall 2009. The ELSJ requirement, which must be completed by every undergraduate student at the University as part of their Core Curriculum, cultivates social justice, civic life, perspective, and civic engagement.

This innovative and dynamic requirement is distinctly Jesuit in character, and was designed to meet the call articulated by Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, then Superior General of the Society of Jesus, in his address at Santa Clara in 2000. In his address, Fr. Kolvenbach expressed the need “to educate the whole person of solidarity in the real world.”

Students can fulfill the ELSJ requirement through completion of a course that a) is designed to meet the ELSJ learning objectives and b) contains a community-based learning (aka service learning) component. In order to meet the rigors of this transformative pedagogy, the community-based learning engagements must include substantial direct, face-to-face contact with communities in need. Appropriate learning engagements may be structured around a weekly engagement program at a local non-profit organization, a structured immersion trip, or a project-based community engagement, among other options.

The Experiential Learning for Social Justice (ELSJ) requirement clearly demonstrates Santa Clara’s commitment to sustainability. It encourages community-building through the careful cultivation of meaningful and sustainable partnerships between the University and community partners. Through the transformative community-based learning pedagogies supported by the ELSJ requirement, Santa Clara strives to institutionalize and practice its mission to promote social equity and to examine the root causes of existing inequities. ELSJ represents one of the ways that Santa Clara educates the “whole person” for a deeper understanding of the benefits of civic engagement and responsible citizenship. Moreover, Santa Clara endeavors with this requirement to equip students to make vocational choices with an intellectually sophisticated yet compassionate understanding of the world. These are the lasting transformations that we want every student to experience. In essence, the goal of the ELSJ requirement is to promote a lifetime awareness of and commitment to social justice as a sustainable value.