Experiential Experiences and High Impact Practices
Cal State DC Scholars This unique experience sends CSUF students to Washington DC for a semester or for the summer so they can live, study, and intern in our nation’s capital. While in DC students enroll in academic courses taught by CSUF faculty and intern with such placements as congressional offices, executive agencies, museums, security firms, business groups, political parties, advocacy groups, and non-profit organizations. They also receive mentoring by a growing and supportive alumni network of Titans. This program is open to juniors, seniors and graduate students.
The Lawrence de Graaf Center for Oral and Public History A component of the Department of History and the College of HSS, the Center collects and preserves the stories of distinctive individuals and diverse communities whose historical experiences have shaped the collective memory of Southern California, defined national and transnational identities, and reflected life in an era of globalization. COPH also provides support services for public history projects and has trained generations of CSUF students in the research methodologies of collecting oral histories, interpreting these histories, and preserving important regional, national, and global stories to the public. This experience brings old and young together in conversations and builds bridges between the University and the community. With over 6,300 recorded interviews and related transcripts, photographs, and other materials, COPH maintains the largest regionally-focused oral history archive in the state of California.
The Institute of Black Intellectual Innovation The Institute for Black Intellectual Innovation (IBII) at CSUF is a cross-campus and community-minded initiative to institutionalize the support and inclusion of Black people, culture, creative arts, and intellectual history at California State University, Fullerton and throughout Orange County. This institute will facilitate innovative research opportunities and publications; provide mentorship and student engagement; showcase creative arts performances; partner with community stakeholders to host events that develop cultural competency.
Passage to the Future Passage to the Future is a structured curricular and co-curricular program that prepares Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) students to enter a range of careers in fields unfamiliar to our predominantly first-generation students. Passage students start their journey by taking a course to aid them with career exploration. Each semester they complete a myriad of other activities that enable them to strengthen their professional competencies and leadership skills. Program graduates are then eligible to become a Passage Fellow and participate in a paid internship with an Orange County business or non-profit organization. Bolstered by these experiences, students graduate with the direction, confidence, and experience that they will need to start building an impactful career.
Study Abroad Each year, over 100 students travel internationally to participate in the HSS Study Abroad programs in places such as England, Germany, Portugal, South Africa, and Costa Rica. This program allows students to study in a foreign nation and experience the sights and culture of another country. “There’s a vast difference in the way you absorb learning about other people and their country when you’re physically in that space compared to learning about them in a book. You witness, in real time, how their society and culture work, with an added bonus of living their lifestyle for a short time. It’s honestly enlightening and helps open your mind to various life approaches.“ – Jocelyn Aponte, Berlin 2022
Other Ways to Support Students and Faculty
Student Scholarships
Faculty Legacy Research Fund o Established in 2018 by a group of current and emeriti faculty, this initiative helps to ensure the legacy of the intellectual and scholarly values of those colleagues who laid the foundation of our college and forever change the future of HSS. This fund supports faculty research opportunities, access to databases, and travel for research as well as to professional conferences.
