Center for Integrative and Experiential Learning

At the University of South Carolina, what you learn inside the classroom is only the beginning.

True learning extends beyond the classroom. That means taking what you've learned and connecting it to other meaningful experiences.

In order to make the most of your time at Carolina, we encourage you to think about the experiences that you'd like to gain while you're here. Consider how those experiences can influence your academics, how your academics can enhance your experiences and how both can impact your long-term goals. This interweaving of learning inside and beyond the classroom is called experiential and integrative learning. The Center for Integrative and Experiential Learning supports all students, faculty and staff as they connect academic work to "real life" applications and their goals for the future.

CIEL can help you create your plan so that your experiences can be applied in a purposeful way. CIEL partners - faculty and staff across the university - can help you choose your experiences, and engage in the ones that are right for you. Along the way, you should think through the significance of your experiences and demonstrate what you have learned.

By engaging in integrative and experiential learning, you are enhancing your preparation for life and success beyond Carolina. The pathways of experience that you choose can even lead you to pursue special recognition through Graduation with Leadership Distinction to set yourself apart as you move into work, graduate programs and life!

At USC, I have discovered myself, uncovering traits I didn’t know I had, honing my abilities as a student and leader, and pursuing my interests on a daily basis.

Lily Gullion, Exercise Science

Discover your Purpose.

Challenge the conventional. Create the exceptional. No Limits.