Community-Engaged Learning (CEL)

The Community-Engaged Learning Office (CELO) seeks to enhance the global education of our students by increasing and deepening their academic engagement with our surrounding community in reciprocal relationships that help students understand China more deeply, and make a positive impact on local needs. Community-Engaged Learning initiatives combine academic learning with community-based research and service. We help to build bridges between the courses, students, and faculty who wish to incorporate community engagement into their academic teaching and learning.

List of Fall 2023 CEL events (click here to view)

Overview of CELO Programs:

Community-based CEL Events

Each semester, CELO organizes events to connect faculty, students, and staff with community-based topics, experts, and places to foster learning connections and potential future collaborations for research and teaching. Below are some examples: 
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? Exploring Qiantan with CEL
NYU Shanghai Students Explore Qiantan Neighborhood through “Food and Design”
NYU Shanghai Students Document Home through ‘Slow Storytelling’

Faculty Resources

The CEL Office can consult with faculty on ideas for integrating community-based resources and projects into their courses. Email shanghai.cel@nyu.edu for a consultation. See additional tools and resources developed by practitioners around the world to help faculty plan for community engagement. 

  • FALL 2023 Experiential Learning | Curriculum Design Fellowship for Faculty - Apply by Sept 3
    These sessions will introduce you to experiential learning theory, participate in field experiences, and provide 1-on-1 coaching to develop an experiential learning component for your own course. Apply here by Sept. 3 to join the first cohort of this new program organized by the Program on Creativity and Innovation (PCI), Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), and CELO.

Dean's Service Scholars Courses (DSS)

DSS are service-learning courses that offer students the unique opportunity to serve the needs of local communities through applying academic studies. The service-learning model emphasizes students' personal growth and development, which is achieved by personal reflections, group discussions and mentorship from faculty and staff members. Below are a list of current and past DSS courses and a publication of case studies of NYU Shanghai academic service learning courses (English / Chinese). 

ENGD-SHU 101A Language and Power 
PSYC-SHU 234 Developmental Psychology
PSYC-329 Parenting and Culture
ART-SHU 250 Visual Culture and Social Art Practice: Collaborations and Community Interactions
INTM-SHU 248 Creating Assistive Technology
INTM-SHU 271 Remade in China
INTM-SHU 267 The Cultivated City

Faculty-Led Immersive Learning Trips

The Office of Community Engaged Learning partners with faculty to design learning trips around China. These trips connect academic topics with place-based experiential learning about the people, history, culture and environment of local communities. Click here for more information and examples of trips.

College and Career Lab (CCL)
The CELO runs this service-learning summer camp for migrant youth in collaboration with local NGOs, Assistant Professor of Psychology Lixian Cui, and NYU Steinhardt Associate of International Education Professor Hua-Yu Sebastian Cherng, a founding team member of NYU’s College and Career Lab in New York. More information can be found here: Building Dreams and Breaking Barriers: NYU Shanghai Hosts Summer Camp for Migrant Youth

CEL Documentary Viewing Series

The CEL Office hosts a documentary screening and discussion series. Specific titles and dates are shared here.