Skip to main content

Traditional Field Study (Social Ecology 195 and 195W) - Student Learning Outcomes and Minimum Standards

Field Study Overview

Field Study promotes community engagement to facilitate civic education through field research experience, social intervention and professionalization.

Faculty led small-group seminars engage students in classroom instruction, discussion, writing and presentations synthesizing students’ experiences in the field with theory, paradigms and ideas learned about in their coursework. 

Faculty have the autonomy to tailor the field study seminar to their expertise to best guide students to the stated learning outcomes. They incorporate instruction, readings, assignments, papers, and presentations to guide students in achieving the learning outcomes.

Students must follow procedures and meet established deadlines for field work and course enrollment to be authorized for field study. 

Minimum Field Work Requirements

  • Satisfactory completion of 80 fieldwork hours is needed to earn the required 4 units of field study (1 unit = 20 hours of field work)
  • Students may complete 40-160 hours of field work in any given academic quarter (FWS). During summer, students may complete 80 hours of field work. 4 total units of field study is required to fulfill the field study requirement.
  • Field work must be completed with an agency approved by the field study office.

Student Learning Outcomes

Through field study all students will:

  • synthesize current and prior academic work to address an issue identified in the course of your fieldwork
  • record and analyze field observations in relation to a theoretical question, professional pathway or social issue
  • communicate your analysis orally and in writing

In addition to the above, students in SocEcol 195W, Field Study Writing Seminar will:

  • Demonstrate rhetorically effective, discipline-specific writing and communication for appropriate audiences.
  • Demonstrate, at an advanced level of competence, use of discipline-specific research methods, genres, modes of development, and formal conventions.
  • Demonstrate advanced information literacy skills by locating, evaluating and integrating information gathered from multiple sources into discipline-specific writing.

Minimum Academic Requirements

 

SocEcol 195 – Field Study

P/NP only

SocEcol 195W – Field Study Writing Seminar - Graded

Class Attendance

Attend all scheduled class meetings.  Minimum of 5 meetings/quarter.

Attend all scheduled class meetings.  Minimum of 10 meetings/quarter.

Writing Assignments*

Paper focused on a topic related to student’s field work.  Faculty may assign additional writing assignments as well.

Writing assignments are completed without multiple drafts and with minimal feedback.  Students typically do not provide peer feedback on other students work.  

Intensive writing outside of class. Students complete multiple drafts of all writing assignments and re-write based on feedback received from other students.  Provide peer feedback on other student’s writing

Words  (2-4 units)

2,500

4,000

Scholarly Sources (2-4 units)

2

2

Words (each additional unit)

+625 per unit

+625 per unit

Scholarly Sources 

1 additional for 5-6 units                

2 additional for 7-8 units

1 additional for 5-6 units    

2 additional for 7-8 units

Text books/readings

None required

Writing guide required

* Faculty may add to the requirements listed above, develop paper/project topics, and establish additional grading criteria.

Approved:  Social Ecology Curriculum Committee 02/07/2019. 
Approved:  UCI Academic Senate 4/18/2019