The Liberal Studies mission emphasizes students, faculty, and administrators working collaboratively to develop “global leaders that will become agents of change in a changing world.” Opportunities for civic engagement, service, and leadership are thus integral to the mission and goals of LS and New York University. Below are a selection of options for making a difference as an LS student.
Service & Civic Engagement
First-Year Day of Service
During Orientation, new LS students are invited to volunteer for one of several service projects sponsored on campus and throughout NYC. Each service project emphasizes a particular community or social justice issue, which allows students and other volunteers to contribute toward issues that resonate with them.
LS Alternative Breaks
The alternative break program provides students with the opportunity to learn about political and social community dynamics while becoming a catalyst for collaborative change. Through both learning and practice, students explore the integration of service, education and reflection to enact change. A cohort of LS students will visit either an international or domestic location each spring semester to undertake a project relevant for that community. NYU Alternative Breaks travel during winter break or spring break.
LS Service Ambassadors
Students that have demonstrated commitment to service and civic engagement. Service Ambassadors participate in a year long program partnering with organizations across New York City to promote awareness of social issues and service opportunities.
LS Volunteer Grants
Students who volunteer on an ongoing basis with NYC community organizations are eligible to apply for small grants through Liberal Studies. These grants help offset some of the costs associated with volunteerism, such as transportation, meals and potentially suggested donations. Applicants must be matriculated LS students. Awards range from $100 to $250.
Social Impact Grants
Social Impact Grants fund student initiatives that involve making a difference in communities and enriching the quality of life. These grants model the idea that contributing back to a particular community is both an important educational experience and critical preparation for the practice of global citizenship. Applicants must be matriculated Liberal Studies students in at least the second semester of their first year. Awards range from $500 to $2,000.
Alternative Breaks
Provides students the opportunity to participate in a year-long experience exploring social, political, and cultural dynamics of a particular community. Through learning and practice, students explore the theory of integrating service, education, and reflection to create meaningful change in their communities.
NYU Green Grants
NYU Green Grants are awarded to improve the university’s environmental performance, foster environmental literacy and community engagement, advance applied research and design, and demonstrate the viability of best practices and technologies for sustainability.
NYU Social Impact Week
Social Impact Week is a collaboration between student groups, external organizations, alumni, and faculty with the goal of inspiring positive change in the NYU community. The lectures, discussion panels, volunteering and other programming offered during the week intend to create tangible and sustainable impact.
Project Outreach
A week-long program prior to NYU's Welcome Week that pairs service-minded incoming first year and transfer students with peer mentors to learn about and perform service throughout New York City.
Service and Volunteer Fairs
At the beginning of each semester, NYU Service and the Center for Student Activities, Leadership and Service (CSALS) host a campus-wide fair to connect students with local non-profit and community-based organizations offering internships and/or volunteer opportunities.
New York Cares
Various volunteer programs that serve New Yorkers
NYC Service Initiative
Volunteer opportunities that address New York's greatest needs
Jumpstart
Early childhood programs that engage college student volunteers
America Reads & America Counts
Programs that encourage youth reading and mathematics skills
Public Service Internships
Internships with city agencies for work-study students
Community Service Project Grants
Funding for service projects or unpaid internships
Peace Corps
Service opportunity for immersion in a community abroad
Civic engagement: Community service, public service and/or volunteerism by individuals and groups that “identify and address community needs and public concerns.”
—NYU Office of Community Engagement
Contact ls.service@nyu.edu with questions about service opportunities.
Charcy Ye
Liberal Studies Core Program/ CAS 2019
Social Impact Recipient 2015–17
Project and Impact Description: I brought service to communities in Maine that lack dance and arts resources and taught local students a three-week bootcamp. During the bootcamp, I taught them basic dance techniques and also choreographic methods, encouraging students to express their individuality through the arts of dance and choreography. By the end of the bootcamp, students thrived and made a one-hour show on their own, presented to the local community. The impact I brought to the community is a moment of pride among everyone—the students, their parents, and the audience. Most importantly, the students gained confidence, awareness for the arts, and the realization of who they are in the end.
What is most memorable about this service experience? The most memorable moment of this experience is at the end of the students' final performance, everyone in the audience joined the students on the dance floor. Even through most of them don't dance, they tried to move their bodies with the music and the beat. Everyone smiled. At that moment, I realized that I brought happiness and positivity to this town. Not only were the students inspired by performance arts, the community was inspired as well. One of the parents wrote me that "I have never seen my kid smile so happily and genuinely in her whole life, and I am so grateful that you brought that light to her face." Since then, I knew that I wanted to continue this journey and continue bringing this light to more kids around through the education inthe arts.
What did you learn from this service experience? Even though I was supposedly the "instructor" during that bootcamp, a lot of the time I felt like the students were my teachers. They taught me new ways of thinking and having fun, and new perspectives on life. A lot of the time, they inspired me much more than I expected. So what I learned was that, throughout my life, anyone can be my teacher and anyone can bring a tint of new light to my life.
Advice for students interested in applying for a Social Impact Grant... Be open minded! Sometimes your journey might not exactly line up with what you have planned, but just know that this is part of the experience and you might find new enlightenments throughout the way!
Useful Links
- Leadership Leadership at Liberal Studies and beyond
- NYU Local and Global Service Find more opportunities to volunteer with NYU
- NYU Community Engagement Impact the community surrounding NYU
- NYU Leadership Initiative Rethink leadership as collective work with a shared vision