The application consists of two main components:
- Completed student application form:
- Applicant eligibility, including GPA and graduation application status
- Documentation of 3 Community Engagement Experiences
- Personal Essay
- Recommendation forms (2 total required – one from each listed below):
- Faculty/Staff Recommendation - This form must be completed by a UNF employee
- Community Partner Recommendation - This form cannot be completed by a UNF employee
Part 1: Student Application Form
A. Applicant Information and Eligibility
Submission of general applicant information, including overall Grade Point Average (GPA)
Undergraduate students: A minimum UNF GPA of 2.75 is required. Applicants GPA will be verified via UNF’s student records.
Graduate and Professional Students: A minimum UNF GPA of 3.0 is required. Applicants GPA will be verified via UNF’s student records.
B. Documentation of Community Engagement Experiences
Applicants should complete the Community Engagement documentation portion by detailing THREE (3) meaningful community engagement experiences that have occurred during their academic years at UNF.
To complete the documentation form, you will need information such as course names, course numbers, CRN Numbers, faculty member names, names of experiences or community-based assignment(s), names of the community organizations, number of hours served, and a brief summary of the experience. You may want to gather this information before beginning the application.
You will need to identify in which category your Community Engagement Experience fits. These categories are for classification purposes only.
Curricular (Course/Credit Based) Community-Based Activities
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Community-based research or assignment project focused on a community issue (research completed with a faculty mentor and community agency that focused on addressing a community issue)
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International study abroad with a service learning component (taken for credit)
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Community-Based Instruction or service learning course (credit course that includes unpaid, voluntary work as an integrated part of the coursework)
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Community Apprenticeship for academic programs (unpaid, voluntary work performed at a charitable non-profit, government or school-based site that was documented through credit; i.e., internship, Co-op, practicum, clinical, or field placement)
Co-Curricular (Out-of-Classroom) Community-Based Activities
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Campus sponsored day of service (a one-time service project organized by UNF)
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Intensive service project (a service project with a significant amount of voluntary community service over a set period of time, such as an alternative break or study abroad experience not taken for credit that includes a service component)
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Membership or leadership in a community-based engagement student organization (participation or leadership role is a service, political or social-issue based organization that is registered with UNF’s Club Alliance)
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Non-paid/non-credit Community Apprenticeship (unpaid, voluntary work performed at a charitable non-profit, government or school-based site that wasn’t documented through credit; i.e., internship, Co-op, practicum, clinical, or field placement)
Compensated Community-Based Activities (via money, scholarship, or similar benefits)
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Community-based Federal work-study employment (Federal work-study position performed at a charitable non-profit community organization)
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National Service (Including AmeriCorps, NCCC, VISTA, etc.)
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Scholarship that requires a minimum of 20 or more hours of service per year
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Military service (including ROTC)
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Paid internship at a community-based site (government, school, or non-profit organization)
C. Personal Essay
Applicants are asked to submit an essay (no more than 1000 words) that addresses the following statement:
UNDERGRADUATES:
I have a responsibility and a commitment to use the knowledge and skills I gained as an undergraduate college student to collaborate with others, who may be different from me, to help address issues in society.
GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL STUDENTS:
I have a responsibility and commitment in my career to use the professional knowledge and skills that I gained through my graduate education to collaborate and build consensus with others across difference to address social issues.
Applicants are asked to explain the ways that they agree or disagree with this statement and provide personal examples.
Part 2: Recommendation Forms and Comments
A.
Recommendation from a UNF faculty/staff member
One recommendation is required from a faculty or staff member who has advised, supervised or observed the applicant’s community-based engagement experience(s). This recommendation should address the applicant’s civic learning and development that occurred as a result of the community-based engagement experience(s). The recommendation consists of a form and a space for additional comments. A full recommendation letter is allowed, but is not required.
B. Recommendation from a Community Member/Partner
One recommendation is required from a community member/partner who has advised, supervised or observed the applicant’s community-based engagement experience(s). This recommendation should detail the community impact that an applicant has contributed as a result of the community-based engagement experience. The recommendation consists of a form and a space for additional comments. A full recommendation letter is allowed, but is not required.
