By completing the Community Service pathway you will explore the significance of your
service experiences, the skills you have learned, and how you can apply those skills
in the future. The Community Service pathway emphasizes the transformative experience
that occurs when you gain real-world experience by working directly with others in
service leadership. To receive Graduation with Leadership Distinction in Community
Service, you must complete the appropriate pathway requirements for the degree level
you are pursuing.
The first step towards pursuing Graduation with Leadership Distinction in Community Service is to
complete the GLD Orientation.
Extensive Beyond the Classroom Experience
You must complete a combined 300 hours of Community Service from at least two (2) different programs or experiences. Courses that include a service learning component may be used to satisfy this requirement; however, you may not double count your core experience toward fulfilling the coursework requirement.
Some majors require significant beyond the classroom experiences(BTC) as part of their curriculum, but a certain amount of your BTC experiences for GLD should come from outside the requirements of your major. Students majoring in Education, Social Work, and Nursing may only apply 200 hours of BTC experiences required of their major (e.g., required internship or practicum hours) towards the Community Service pathway. The remaining 100 hours must come from service experiences not required by the major.
Students are required to submit a verification letter written by their supervisor on company letterhead, that includes the date of the community service, hours served, title of position, supervisor’s information, and a brief overview of the role in which you served. Failure to submit a verification letter, forgery, or misrepresentation will result in the student being ineligible for GLD.
To find potential community service opportunities you can search the My USC Experience Database. You can also find local service opportunities using the Leadership and Service Center's Community Partner map.
Enhancement Experiences
You must participate in three (3) enhancement experiences. An enhancement experience is a beyond the classroom engagement that increases your understanding of topics or issues related to your pathway. Enhancement experiences can be one-time or ongoing events that require passive attendance or active participation and discussion. These experiences may take place on or off campus. Examples include, but are not limited to: workshops, lectures, conferences/presentations, official meetings, job shadowing, and out-of-class events/trips. Enhancement experiences may not be double counted toward the fulfillment of the publication/presentation requirement. Use the My USC Experience Database to find enhancement experiences.
Coursework
You must complete six (6) credit hours with a B or better from the approved course list for the Community Service pathway. If you have not taken courses from the approved list, you may list and describe up to two courses (6 credit hours) that were particularly meaningful for your pathway. You should have earned a B or better for these courses. You may not double count your coursework toward fulfilling the core experience requirement.
Public Presentation
You must complete a public publication or presentation related to a meaningful beyond the classroom experience. Publications and presentations must be of a professional nature. You are strongly encouraged to present your work at Discover USC. If you wish to fulfill this requirement in a way other than presenting at Discovery USC, you can find the information about Alternative Presentations on the Presentation page.
Your presentation must meet certain expectations [pdf] such as focusing on your experience within the Community Service pathway and explaining what you have done, what you have learned from your experiences (including coursework) and how you will use this learning in the future.
ePortfolio
You must complete a GLD ePortfolio demonstrating the significance of your within-and-beyond the classroom experiences. The two ways of completing the ePortfolio are taking a course that supports the creation of the GLD ePortfolio (such as Univ 401 for GLD) or by attending an ePortfolio workshop and then working with a GLD advisor.
Extensive Beyond the Classroom Experience
You must complete a combined 125 hours of Community Service from at least two (2) different programs or experiences. Courses that include a service learning component may be used to satisfy this requirement; however, you may not double count your core experience toward fulfilling the coursework requirement.
Students are required to submit a verification letter written by their supervisor on company letterhead, that includes the date of the community service, hours served, title of position, supervisor’s information, and a brief overview of the role in which you served. Failure to submit a verification letter, forgery, or misrepresentation will result in the student being ineligible for GLD.
To find potential community service opportunities you can search the My USC Experience Database. You can also find local service opportunities using the Leadership and Service Center's Community Partner map.
Enhancement Experiences
You must participate in two (2) enhancement experiences. An enhancement experience is a beyond the classroom engagement that increases your understanding of topics or issues related to your pathway. Enhancement experiences can be one-time or ongoing events that require passive attendance or active participation and discussion. These experiences may take place on or off campus. Examples include, but are not limited to: workshops, lectures, conferences/presentations, official meetings, job shadowing, and out-of-class events/trips. Enhancement experiences may not be double counted toward the fulfillment of the publication/presentation requirement. Use the My USC Experience Database to find enhancement experiences.
Coursework
You must complete three (3) credit hours with a B or better from the approved course list for the Community Service pathway. If you have not taken courses from the approved list, you may list and describe a course (3 credit hours) that was particularly meaningful for your pathway. You should have earned a B or better in this course. You may not double count your coursework toward fulfilling the core experience requirement.
Public Presentation
You must complete a public publication or presentation related to a meaningful beyond the classroom experience. Publications and presentations must be of a professional nature. You are strongly encouraged to present your work at Discover USC. If you wish to fulfill this requirement in a way other than presenting at Discovery USC, you can find the information about Alternative Presentations on the Presentation page.
Your presentation must meet certain expectations [pdf] such as focusing on your experience within the Community Service pathway and explaining what you have done, what you have learned from your experiences (including coursework) and how you will use this learning in the future.
ePortfolio
You must complete a GLD ePortfolio demonstrating the significance of your within-and-beyond the classroom experiences. The two ways of completing the ePortfolio are taking a course that supports the creation of the GLD ePortfolio (such as Univ 401 for GLD) or by attending an ePortfolio workshop and then working with a GLD advisor.
Extensive Beyond the Classroom Experience
You must complete a combined 400 hours of Community Service from at least two (2) different programs or experiences. Courses that include a service learning component may be used to satisfy this requirement; however, you may not double count your core experience toward fulfilling the coursework requirement.
Students are required to submit a verification letter written by their supervisor on company letterhead, that includes the date of the community service, hours served, title of position, supervisor’s information, and a brief overview of the role in which you served. Failure to submit a verification letter, forgery, or misrepresentation will result in the student being ineligible for GLD.
To find potential community service opportunities you can search the My USC Experience Database. You can also find local service opportunities using the Leadership and Service Center's Community Partner map.
Enhancement Experiences
You must participate in four (4) enhancement experiences. An enhancement experience is a beyond the classroom engagement that increases your understanding of topics or issues related to your pathway. Enhancement experiences can be one-time or ongoing events that require passive attendance or active participation and discussion. These experiences may take place on or off campus. Examples include, but are not limited to: workshops, lectures, conferences/presentations, official meetings, job shadowing, and out-of-class events/trips.. Enhancement experiences may not be double counted toward the fulfillment of the publication/presentation requirement. Use the My USC Experience Database to find enhancement experiences.
Coursework
You must complete nine (9) credit hours with a B or better from the approved course list for the Community Service pathway. If you have not taken courses from the approved list, you may list and describe up to three courses (9 credit hours) that were particularly meaningful for your pathway. You should have earned a B or better for these courses. You may not double count your coursework toward fulfilling the core experience requirement.
Public Presentation
You must complete a public publication or presentation related to a meaningful beyond the classroom experience. Publications and presentations must be of a professional nature. You are strongly encouraged to present your work at Discover USC. If you wish to fulfill this requirement in a way other than presenting at Discovery USC, you can find the information about Alternative Presentations on the Presentation page.
Your presentation must meet certain expectations [pdf] such as focusing on your experience within the Community Service pathway and explaining what you have done, what you have learned from your experiences (including coursework) and how you will use this learning in the future.
ePortfolio
You must complete a GLD ePortfolio demonstrating the significance of your within-and-beyond the classroom experiences. The two ways of completing the ePortfolio are taking a course that supports the creation of the GLD ePortfolio (such as Univ 401 for GLD) or by attending an ePortfolio workshop and then working with a GLD advisor.