Educational Opportunities

Created to encourage aspiring teachers, MCC’s Center for Careers in Teaching assists students who are beginning or continuing their career preparation at Middlesex. A clearinghouse for the most recent teacher-preparation information and resources, the center offers students a quiet space to review materials and information about pathways to academic licensure, teacher test-preparation, and local workshops and seminars about careers in teaching. Contact the Center for Careers in Teaching for individualized services by appointment at 781-280-3563 or e-mail: higginsn@middlesex.mass.edu.

As part of MCC’s annual Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) activities, a Common Book is selected for literary quality and relevance to many subject areas. This book is recommended for inclusion in a variety of courses and college-wide activities. Faculty may choose to assign the book to be read independently, or teach appropriate elements within a given discipline. Therefore, the Common Book may be examined from different perspectives in different courses.

 The Common Book for the 2011-2012 academic year is This I Believe II: More Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women, edited by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman. MCC Common Books in previous years have included Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama, When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka, Prince of Thieves by Chuck Hogan, The Giver by Lois Lowry, Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts, Not Born in the U.S.A. edited by the MCC Writing Across the Curriculum Committee, and Shakespeare Behind Bars: The Power of Drama in a Women’s Prison by MCC Professor Jean Trounstine. 

Throughout the year, WAC sponsors events, such as writing workshops, poetry readings, student essay contests and Common Book activities for all members of the college community. For further information, see the Writing Across the Curriculum website: www.middlesex.mass.edu/wac.

Designed to provide students with opportunities to gain work experience in their fields of study, cooperative education, internships or field experiences are included in many major programs of study as required courses or recommended electives. In these experiences, students earn academic credit for work related to their major programs of study. There are field experiences in specific areas of program-related work, such as internships for Paralegal Studies students with the MCC Law Center at the Lowell campus.
 
Cooperative Field Experience (BUS 214), which combines classroom or online lectures with workplace experience, is required in some Business Administration degree and certificate programs. Many students in programs other than business also enroll in this course as an elective. See the section on Course Descriptions  for further information and prerequisites.

MCC’s Commonwealth Honors Program and designated honors courses have been developed specifically for high academic achievers -– students who enjoy working together and sharing ideas while they challenge themselves with exciting readings, assignments and independent research. Outstanding faculty work with these strongly motivated students and offer honors courses across all disciplines. Individual honors courses are open to students who have earned at least 12 credits, including English Composition I, and have a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher. Certain courses have additional prerequisites, such as a writing sample or a faculty recommendation. A student may take an Honors Option in a “non-honors” course by signing a contract with the instructor and performing additional tasks for honors credit.

Honors students are invested in their learning and are encouraged to develop a rigorous attitude toward their education. To graduate from Middlesex as a Commonwealth Honors Program Scholar, students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.2 and take a minimum of three honors courses, including one that is interdisciplinary. The college celebrates these students with the designation of “Honors Scholar” on their permanent transcript and special recognition at graduation.

Commonwealth Honors Program graduates strengthen their transfer opportunities, increase their eligibility for scholarships, and enhance their employment potential. For more information about applying to the Commonwealth Honors Program, contact the Commonwealth Honors Program coordinator at 781-280-3829, e-mail: honors@middlesex.mass.edu, or visit the Honors website: www.middlesex.mass.edu/honors/.

Full-time students in good standing (a minimum 2.00 GPA) who have earned a minimum of 12 credits may develop, in cooperation with a faculty member, a program of study which is not formally offered at the college. Independent study can only be pursued after the student’s first semester. A maximum of six semester hours (three per semester) may be taken under such an arrangement. Contracts for independent study must be approved by the cooperating faculty member and the division dean. Final approval must be made by the provost.

Each semester, the college offers a variety of interdisciplinary courses. Some are co-taught by two instructors, and others are two separate (paired) courses. Both types of interdisciplinary courses interrelate knowledge, facts and ideas through the integration of several subject areas.

By enrolling in one interdisciplinary course that combines, for example, humanities and social science, students have the opportunity to fulfill two of their core curriculum requirements with one course. Interdisciplinary courses are noted in each Semester Schedule and more information is available from the Academic, Career & Transfer Centers.  

Middlesex sponsors study abroad fellowships to Belize, the People’s Republic of China, Ireland, Spain, Russia, Peru and the Netherlands. These International Fellowships are three-credit courses involving a two-week journey to study first-hand the history and culture of the host countries.

MCC’s exchange opportunities, broad array of cross-cultural activities, and extensive on-campus international-visitors programs all contribute to our students’ exposure to the global nature of economic and social development. International education and training programs are also part of the college’s support for area business and community development. For more information, call MCC’s International and Multicultural Office at 978-656-3258. 

Learning Communities are interdisciplinary course offerings in which two highly interactive courses are combined to deepen and intensify the learning experience for students. In totally integrated Learning Communities, two or more team-taught courses are joined as if they were one larger class. In linked Learning Communities, two separate courses are thematically connected and use shared assignments and activities.

By focusing on contemporary themes, Learning Communities enhance student interest, and foster understanding of how subjects and issues are interrelated. In addition, because the same students work together on projects and assignments in both classes, Learning Communities foster the development of peer relationships, which enhance and support the learning experience.

Learning Communities offered in the past include: Write for Law and Order, Theater in Action, Power: Who has it? Who gets it?, Born Identity, and How to Succeed in Business. Only the individual courses included in the Learning Community are listed on students’ transcripts. For example, students enrolled in Power: Who has it? Who gets it? will have ENG 101 English Composition I and SOC 101 Introduction to Sociology recorded on their transcripts.

For more information and course offerings, visit the Learning Communities website. 

All Middlesex students are encouraged to nurture their interest in the theater by participating onstage, offstage or backstage in the various MCC Theatre productions staged throughout the year. Any currently enrolled MCC student can participate, and may choose to receive course credit in elective Theater courses. Students can also enroll in MCC’s Performing Arts: Theater Option or Fine and Performing Arts Concentration: Theater Option. Plays and musicals are staged in the MCC Theatre, a flexible, 90-seat performance space, located at 5 E. Merrimack St. (rear entrance), in Lowell. For more information, visit the college Performing Arts website: www.middlesex.mass.edu/PerformingArts.  

 Service-Learning is a credit-bearing educational experience in which students participate in an organized service activity that meets identified community needs, and then reflect on the service activity. Combining service with learning allows students to gain further understanding of the course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline, and an enhanced sense of civic responsibility. Service-Learning’s unique collaboration between students, faculty, staff and community partners also connects the college with community priorities, and MCC students with career exploration.
 
There are three models of Service-Learning at Middlesex. The first, Individual Service-Learning, occurs within a course and requires students to spend 22 hours a semester (two to three hours a week) at a community site over an eight- to 11-week time period during the semester. Upon completion of Individual Service-Learning, students receive the “Service-Learning” designation on their academic transcript.

The second model, Project-Based Service-Learning allows all or part of a class to work together to address an identified need or problem in the community, while also meeting course outcomes. (Students receive the “Service-Learning” designation on their transcripts for projects over 20 hours.)

The third model is a One-Credit Service-Learning Course (IDS 102). The course curriculum focuses on learning about several community issues or needs in detail. Then, through organized reflection activities, students connect what is occurring in the community to what is being taught in the course. Service for this model can be an individual 22-hour Service-Learning placement, or Project-Based Service-Learning. (Upon completion for either model, students receive the “Service-Learning” transcript designation.)

MCC’s Service-Learning Department is located in Bedford House (Building 5), Room 209, on the Bedford campus. On the Lowell campus, it is located in the City Building, Fifth Floor, Office 21. For more information, call 781-280-3556. 

Launched to help identify and develop student leaders, this one-year, fellowship program is named in honor of Paul H. Sullivan, the late radio talk-show host, Lowell Sun political editor, and longtime Middlesex adjunct professor of journalism. The program is designed to encourage students to go outside the classroom and develop new skills, and give back to the community.

Student fellows are nominated by MCC staff and faculty, and selected by committee. Programming includes intensive on-campus workshops, off-site summits, special social and community events, and internships. Programs are facilitated by leaders from government, business, nonprofit organizations and the college. For more information, call 978-656-3164, e-mail: griffinmj@middlesex.mass.edu, or visit the Paul H. Sullivan Leadership Institute website. 

Designed expressly for students with significant learning disabilities, MCC’s nationally recognized Transition Program is a two-year, noncredit certificate-of-completion program that teaches consumer and business skills, independent living, and personal and social development. The cornerstone of the program is an internship each semester in local business settings.

The Transition Program helps students who would find traditional college-level academics too challenging, even with extensive support services, achieve their potential through specialized coursework and hands-on experience in work settings.  Students work two days per week in competitive employment situations in office and business support environments. During the other three days, students complete specially designed courses in the following areas: computer skills and vocational preparation, consumer education, personal and social development, job seeking and job survival skills. Small class size ensures that students receive individualized attention and a program tailored to meet their unique needs. Graduates receive a Certificate of Completion in Office and Business Support Skills.  (See Transition Program  for the complete curriculum.)

The Transition Program is selective, accepting only 20 students each year. Prospective applicants and their families MUST  attend an information session to receive application materials. Information sessions are held periodically throughout the year. For information about the Transition Program and application procedures, call 781-280-3630.  

MCC’s Weekend College offers students additional opportunities to earn or complete their degrees. Courses are offered on weekends in a variety of formats, including traditional 15-week sessions and accelerated 10-week sessions, as well as self-paced courses. Our accelerated Business Administration Transfer degree program allows students to earn an associate’s degree in as little as 17 months by attending on-campus and hybrid Saturday classes. Students also have access to advising services on Saturdays. Call 1-800-818-3434 for more information about Weekend College.