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GENS 200/400

Professional Experience & Community Service (1-3 units)

General Studies 200 (GENS 200) and 400 (GENS 400) courses offer SDSU students the opportunity to receive up to six units of credit applicable to the bachelor’s degree for their participation in a professional expereince or community service experiences. The purpose of the program is to provide professional and community engaged experiences for students in departments or schools that do not have formal internship or community-engaged learning programs. Credit may be applied toward fulfillment of major or minor requirements only with the approval of the department chair or designee.

Why Experiential Learning Matters

Experiential learning, including internships and service/community engagement, provide opportunities for students to learn or hone specific skill sets. As an example, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) eight Career Readiness Competencies:

  1. Critical Thinking/Problem Solving: Exercise sound reasoning to analyze issues, make decisions, and overcome problems. The individual is able to obtain, interpret, and use knowledge, facts, and data in this process, and may demonstrate originality and inventiveness. 
  2. Oral/Written Communications: Articulate thoughts and ideas clearly and effectively in written and oral forms to persons inside and outside of the organization. The individual has public speaking skills; is able to express ideas to others; and can write/edit memos, letters, and complex technical reports clearly and effectively. 
  3. Teamwork/Collaboration: Build collaborative relationships with colleagues and customers representing diverse cultures, races, ages, genders, religions, lifestyles, and viewpoints. The individual is able to work within a team structure and can negotiate and manage conflict. 
  4. Digital Technology: Leverage existing digital technologies ethically and efficiently to solve problems, complete tasks, and accomplish goals. The individual demonstrates effective adaptability to new and emerging technologies. 
  5. Leadership: Leverage the strengths of others to achieve common goals, and use interpersonal skills to coach and develop others. The individual is able to assess and manage his/her emotions and those of others; use empathetic skills to guide and motivate; and organize, prioritize, and delegate work. 
  6. Professionalism/Work Ethic: Demonstrate personal accountability and effective work habits, e.g., punctuality, working productively with others, and time workload management, and understand the impact of non-verbal communication on professional work image. The individual demonstrates integrity and ethical behavior, acts responsibly with the interests of the larger community in mind, and is able to learn from his/her mistakes. 
  7. Career Management: Identify and articulate one's skills, strengths, knowledge, and experiences relevant to the position desired and career goals, and identify areas necessary for professional growth. The individual is able to navigate and explore job options, understands and can take the steps necessary to pursue opportunities, and understands how to self-advocate for opportunities in the workplace. 
  8. Global/Intercultural Fluency: Value, respect, and learn from diverse cultures, races, ages, genders, sexual orientations, and religions. The individual demonstrates openness, inclusiveness, sensitivity, and the ability to interact respectfully with all people and understand individuals’ differences.

Professional Experience Placement

A placement for professional experience is a required aspect of this course, and is the student’s responsibility to secure a placement before applying / submitting a learning plan for the course. 

Reources for identifying and securing a placement:

Typically, placements fall into one of four categories: 

  • Non-campus Employment 
  • Non-campus Internship (paid or unpaid)
  • On-campus Employment or Paid Internship
  • On-campus Unpaid Internship

IMPORTANT: All NON-CAMPUS placements for academic credit (that are not regular employment) must have an active Service Learning Agreement (SLAs) on file with the university. In these cases, if a student's placement does not have an active SLA on file with SDSU, the faculty/staff managing the course will work with the placement supervisor to complete the required Internship Site Questionnaire (ISQ) and SLA (a process that can take several days to weeks). Placement sites not willing to complete an ISQ and/or SLA with SDSU may not place students in work or service placements for academic credit. 

Examples of appropriate work/service placements for this course include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Employment, paid or unpaid, related to the student’s professional goals, resulting, for example, in an evaluation of the management structure of an organization, a “newcomer’s” guide to the profession, or completion of a specific project assigned by the employer and evaluated by the faculty mentor or GENS 200/400 instructor; 
  • Work in a social service agency, hospital, or school, to complete projects such as an analysis of agency effectiveness or interactions among similar agencies or direct support services for clients or students; 
  • Political work designed to produce a project, such as a position paper for a candidate, a campaign strategy, or canvassing of voters for a voter-attitudes study; 
  • Work in a campus advising or tutoring center and keeping a journal to document reactions to and handling of situations, personalities, etc. and analyzing those reactions in a psychological self-profile.

Number of Units

IS3D Major

Students enroll in the 3 unit course version of this course.

All Other Majors

Students are expected to enroll in units based on the number of hours of effort they will complete during their placement. Thus, the student’s work should be at an appropriate level to provide a valuable learning experience as well as a real benefit to the employer. Hours per units are as follows:

  • 1 Unit: 40+ total hours during the term
  • 2 Units: 70+ total hours during the term
  • 3 Units: 100+ total hours during the term

Additional Considerations

Please note that students should assess the value of participating in a professional or service placement during the academic year if they are required as a condition of the placement to offer more than 20 hours per week of their time. Time commitments of more than 20 hours per week may present issues that can negatively impact a student’s academic coursework or progress toward a degree.

Course Enrollment Steps

SAMPLE Course Syllabus (PDF)

SUBMIT HERE: Course Application & Learning Plan

IS3D Major 

  1. While enrolled in GENS 300, work to identify, apply for and secure your placement. 
  2. By the end of your GENS 300 course, submit a Course Application & Learning Plan (see button above). 
  3. Send your placement offer letter to the GENS 400 instructor.
  4. Sign the SDSU Student Release of Liability Waiver (this will be sent this to you via Adobe Sign). Be sure to keep an eye on your email and respond promptly.
  5. If your placement is a NON-CAMPUS internship, play close attention to your email and respond to requests to support the Service Learning Agreement (SLA) process.
  6. If you are an INTERNATIONAL STUDENT in a NON-CAMPUS placment, be sure to provide a Curricular Practical Training (CPT) Form to the GENS 400 instructor so that they can sign it and return it to you. You cannot begin at the placement site until your I-20 is approved.
  7. Once all of the steps are complete, the GENS 400 instructor will update my.sdsu so that YOU can add the course in my.sdsu.

All Other Majors

  1. Meet with your major advisor to discuss whether there is an option for you to receive academic credit through a major department course. If not, you can continue to step 2.
  2. Secure a work, internship or service placement.
  3. Submit a Course Application & Learning Plan (see button above). 
  4. Send your placement offer letter to the course instructor.
  5. Sign the SDSU Student Release of Liability Waiver (this will be sent this to you via Adobe Sign). Be sure to keep an eye on your email and respond promptly.
  6. If your placement is a NON-CAMPUS internship, play close attention to your email and respond to requests to support the Service Learning Agreement (SLA) process.
  7. If you are an INTERNATIONAL STUDENT in a NON-CAMPUS placment, be sure to provide a Curricular Practical Training (CPT) Form to the GENS 400 instructor so that they can sign it and return it to you. You cannot begin at the placement site until your I-20 is approved.
  8. Once all of the steps are complete, the GENS 400 instructor will update my.sdsu so that YOU can add the course in my.sdsu.

Additional Information 

  • The course instructor may ask to meet with you to discuss your placement at any point in this process. Failure to respond to requests to meet/discuss may delay your enrollment.
  • Adding the course late is at the discretion of the course instructor for compelling reasons. Students will be required to follow the Late Schedule Adjustment procedures. 
  • The enrollment process can take up to two weeks or more, so please plan ahead and respond promptly. If you have not received permission to enroll, or you have not heard anything from the course instructor for 14 days, feel free to reach out for an update. 
  • Students seeking academic credit while participating in an international internship should purchase FTIP via CSURMA/Alliance when it is part of a campus program. If through an affiliated organization, but not a campus program, then CSURMA coverage is arguably discretionary, but CSU Risk Management does suggest overlap coverage. Read more about insurance requirements for foreign travel here: https://risk-management.sdsu.edu/off-campus-activities/foreign-travel