Experiential Learning

On this page:

About Experiential Learning

You desire learning that takes place outside the classroom, and the College of Health, Education, and Human Services provides it. Your academic programs will incorporate field experiences, practicums, internships, and clinical experiences. If you seek experiences beyond what is required such as study abroad, volunteering, job shadowing, and student leadership involvement, consider serving and learning in area schools, health facilities, sports organizations, non-profit organizations, and countless other related facilities. Many Dayton area (and beyond) businesses and organizations will allow you to learn from them. The learned skills and mentoring relationships that occur in the field will benefit you as well as the organization and community at large. Below you can see the types of experiences our current students are gaining through their programs. 

Field Experiences

If you are preparing to become an educator, you are required to complete field experiences. These opportunities occur as early as the end of your freshman year and incrementally become more involved, leading up to your final student teaching experience. You will work with the Office of Partnerships and Field Experiences to apply and be placed into an area school to complete your field experience(s). While Ohio requires a minimum number of hours in the classroom to obtain your licensure, we are proud that more than the minimum number of hours have been woven into your curriculum. This means you will leave Wright State with more experience in the classroom than your peers and have ample opportunities to connect with teachers in the area who serve as mentors and resources.

Practicums, Internships, and Clinical Experiences

If majoring in Sports Science with a health and fitness concentration, you are required to complete a 50-hour practicum, typically during your sophomore year, and a 400-hour internship during your senior year. You will be given the flexibility to find a placement that aligns with your interests and goals.

Site Examples

  • Maple Tree Alliance
  • Wright State Campus Recreation
  • Wright State Athletics
  • Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
  • Kettering Sports Medicine
  • Drayer Physical Therapy
  • YMCA of Greater Dayton
  • Fast Twitch Sports Performance

If you are a rehabilitation services student, you will spend 400 hours in your required internship, typically during your senior year. You will find your own placement based on your populations/areas of interest.

Site Examples

  • We Care Arts
  • Daybreak Dayton
  • Montgomery County Probation Office
  • Key Behavior Services
  • Montgomery County Board of Developmental Disabilities
  • Wright State Office of Disability Services

If you are majoring in organizational leadership, you will be challenged to integrate your learning through engagement with community organizations (both profit and non-profit) by registering for one of three skills integration courses: OL 4020: Community-Based Learning (24 hours), OL 4025: Community-Based Internship (85 hours), OR OL 4030: Undergraduate Teaching Assistantship.

Site Examples

  • Alzheimer’s Association of the Miami Valley
  • Five River Metro Parks
  • Dayton Life Enrichment Center
  • YMCA of Greater Dayton
  • Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
  • Reynolds and Reynolds

Public health education majors also have experiential learning as a requirement in their program. Students complete a practicum to help showcase how their skills may be used in the public health sector.

Site Examples

  • Dayton Children's Hospital
  • Greene County Public Health
  • Clark County Health Department (Emergency Management and Mosquito Control)
  • Premier Health 

Our various counseling programs require clinical experiences that allow you to practice counseling skills and gain confidence when working with clients.

University-Wide Opportunities and Resources


Take the Next Step

Finding the right college means finding the right fit. See all that the College of Health, Education, and Human Services has to offer by visiting campus.