Clark University Launches Liberal Education and Effective Practice (LEEP) and Offers up to 10 Full Scholarships

WORCESTER, Mass., Aug. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Clark University has introduced a pioneering model for higher education called LEEP (Liberal Education and Effective Practice) that fully integrates life-changing world, workplace and personal experiences with a robust liberal arts curriculum, giving students the full range of skills needed to thrive in today's complex, ever-changing world.

With LEEP, the University is deepening and aligning the connections among all aspects of a Clark education through innovative curriculum initiatives, creative new approaches to student advising and mentorship, and partnerships involving leading employers and alumni.

In celebration of the launch of LEEP, Clark University will offer up to 10 LEEP Scholarships in 2013, each with a per-student value of $181,680. LEEP Scholars will receive full tuition, room, and board for four years as well as the chance to earn a master's degree as a fifth-year student tuition-free. Applicants who will begin freshman year in fall 2013 are eligible to apply. LEEP Scholars will be among the first students to benefit fully from the LEEP experience, and they will help shape this innovative program for future students.

"While the world has changed dramatically during the last century, traditional liberal arts programs have remained relatively static," said Clark University President David Angel. "LEEP fills the gap by ensuring that students build the knowledge and the skills employers seek, the world needs, and they require to flourish personally, professionally, and civically."

With the guidance and mentorship of experts, students will design an ambitious academic track including interdisciplinary courses, internships, research projects, and study abroad experiences. They'll work closely with professors, researchers, industry experts, and peers to understand and creatively address actual problems. Students will also have the opportunity to work on a LEEP Project with a faculty member and an external partner, providing real on-site experience and demonstrating mastery of the five LEEP learning outcomes, including the ability to integrate skills and knowledge and to solve complex problems through creative thinking, collaboration, and persistence.

Clark's LEEP is the culmination of years of research in the learning sciences and emerging adulthood, and is guided by the essential learning outcomes of the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U).

According to AAC&U President Carol Geary Schneider, "A 21st century liberal education requires a blended model of engaged learning in the liberal arts integrated with more practical, hands-on experience in communities and in workplaces. Clark University is leading the way in reinventing liberal education to prepare today's students for a world of work and life — increasingly characterized by diversity, complexity, and change."

Founded in 1887 in Worcester, Massachusetts, Clark University is a small, liberal arts-based research university addressing social and human imperatives on a global scale. The Clark educational experience embodies the University's motto: Challenge convention. Change our world. www.ClarkU.edu

SOURCE Clark University