Sarah Lawrence College

Undergraduate Academics

Experiential Learning

Academics Undergraduate Experiential Learning
Academic Approach Areas of Study Global Education Combined Degree Programs Pre-Professional Programs Faculty Students & Faculty in Conversation Success After Sarah Lawrence

Connect what you know to what you can do.

At Sarah Lawrence, learning has always extended beyond the classroom. Students connect ideas to experience through internships, research, community partnerships, global study, creative practice, and hands-on fieldwork—applying what they learn while discovering where their interests can take them next.

This tradition of learning by doing is central to a Sarah Lawrence education. By bringing theory and practice together, students develop confidence, adaptability, and real-world insight that prepares them not just for their first step after college, but for a lifetime of meaningful work and engagement.

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The Experiential Learning Center

Opened in September 2026, Sarah Lawrence's new center for experiential learning brings together the programs and services that expand the walls of the classroom beyond campus: Career Services, Community Partnerships & Engagement, SLC EmbeddED, Global Education, and pre-professional advising. Designed to support exploration from a student’s first semester through graduation, the Center makes it easier to connect academic work with real-world experience—and to turn interests into opportunities. It’s one more way Sarah Lawrence helps students shape an education that leads somewhere meaningful.

Learn more
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Explore Experiential Learning Opportunities

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Global Education 

Study abroad through immersive programs around the world that deepen academic work while expanding cultural understanding, independence, and perspective.

Preparing for Graduate & Professional Pathways

Pre-Professional Advising

Students interested in careers in medicine, law, engineering, the arts, education, and other professional fields receive individualized advising that helps them plan coursework, gain relevant experience, and prepare strong applications.

Pre-professional advising works alongside internships, research, and fieldwork to help students connect academic interests with future goals.

Pre-Health
Pre-Education
Pre-Law
Pre-Journalism
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Fieldwork on Campus

The Early Childhood Center

Sarah Lawrence’s Early Childhood Center is both a preschool and a laboratory school where undergraduates observe child development firsthand and work directly with experienced educators.

For students studying psychology, education, and related fields, it offers a valuable opportunity to engage in meaningful fieldwork without leaving campus.

About the Early Childhood Center
Fieldwork
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Environmental Research on the Hudson River

At the Center for the Urban River at Beczak, SLC's research and education facility on the banks of the Hudson River in Yonkers, students engage directly with the ecology of the river and its surrounding watershed through field research, environmental monitoring, and community-based education. Located just minutes from campus, CURB serves as a living laboratory where coursework connects with real environmental questions affecting the region.

Visit the CURB site
Watch The College Tour: Experiential Learning
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Summer Science Program

For 25 years, the Sarah Lawrence College Summer Science Program has provided students an opportunity to engage in hands-on research experience in various disciplines of science and mathematics through an intensive eight-week summer program. Students gain a robust understanding of the means of conducting research through individual and collaborative projects, develop their ability to ask questions and formulate hypotheses, experience new research techniques and approaches, design and carry out experiments, analyze results, and communicate their findings to a wider audience through publication, presentation at conferences, or as part of the College's twice-yearly Science Poster Symposium.
Learn more on MySLC
Article: Student Research with Real-World Impact
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NYC + Yonkers + Westchester

Your Extended Classroom

Sarah Lawrence’s location opens the door to extraordinary opportunities beyond campus. Students intern at arts organizations, nonprofits, research centers, hospitals, media companies, and cultural institutions across New York City and Westchester County.

Just minutes from campus, Yonkers provides opportunities for community-engaged learning, while the College’s proximity to New York City offers access to one of the world’s most dynamic professional and creative environments. Here, the world becomes part of your education.

More about NYC and the surrounding area

Working on Campus

Learning Through Student Employment

Many students gain professional experience through on-campus employment in research labs, arts programs, community initiatives, and administrative offices. These roles build practical skills while strengthening connections across the campus community.

Visit the Student Employment site
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Collaborative Learning in Action

Through the Sarah Lawrence Interdisciplinary Collaborative Experience (SLICE), students work across fields to address complex real-world questions together. Supported by faculty mentorship and partnerships beyond campus, SLICE projects bring students into collaborative environments where creative thinking meets practical application. Many SLICE initiatives have been supported through national humanities engagement grants, reflecting Sarah Lawrence’s leadership in collaborative, community-based learning.

Sarah Lawrence Interdisciplinary Collaborative on the Environment (SLICE)