Professional Service Project

Professional Service Project

The philosophy of professional and service projects is simple: service is a vitally important component of career development. What this means practically is that opportunities are available through service that can allow one to achieve the following objectives:

• Use business skills and knowledge in practical results driven non-academic experiences. The business skills that one can gain through the curriculum can be extensively supplemented through service activities that allow one to use these skills to achieve meaningful and important results.
• Develop Leadership. Through service activities one can significantly enhance their leadership skills. Service projects allow one to develop a true understanding of the importance of leadership in groups and teams achieving their objectives. Service projects also offer the opportunity to students to become involved with other students and to develop their skills for leadership in these situations.
• Develop Professional Networks. Service is a valuable way to enhance one’s professional network. Service activities allow one to gain access to leaders, managers, and key individuals in organization who are responsible for goals achievement and leadership. Service allows students to gain first hand experience and insight from these professionals and to add them to their own network of professional references.
• Community Involvement and Social Responsibility. Community involvement and social responsibility are now critical areas for the development of complete managers and leaders of organizations and society in the future. In most organizations this is now a critical activity for senior managers in their career development process. Service projects allow students to begin to understand the importance of these ideas at an early stage of their careers.

How do I “take” 70-201?

Students fulfill 70-201 requirements by engaging in activities in which they substantively address each of the four goals of the course listed above. The course culminates in a written report documenting students’ participation and the extent to which they achieved the aforementioned goals.

What Activities can I use to complete the requirement?

There are various activities in Undergraduate Business, within the Carnegie Mellon campus at large, and in the local and international communities allow students the opportunity to meet the course goals.

1) Clubs and Organizations: students may fulfill 70-201 by demonstrating high impact, in terms of both quantity and quality of personal contribution, to any Undergraduate Business or University club or organization. Examples of such clubs/organizations include:

• SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise) - The purpose of Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) is to help people achieve their dreams through free enterprise education. SIFE's aim is to provide college students with the best opportunity to make a difference while allowing students to develop lasting leadership, team and communication skills.
• Undergraduate Finance Association - The Undergraduate Finance Association’s mission is to prepare Carnegie Mellon students interested in finance with the tools and education needed for a successful career. To this end the Undergraduate Finance Association will help develop students’ interest in finance, and augment the current Finance Track education with extracurricular workshops and events.
• Undergraduate Investment Club - UIC is an officially recognized organization on campus that brings together Carnegie Mellon students with a passion for equity investing.
• BOC (Business Opportunities Conference) - The Business Opportunities Conference (BOC) is a premier event for undergraduate business students. It is a career fair that is planned, executed and organized by students in order to gain experience applying their education directly to career development, promotion and event marketing.
• Carnegie Mellon Business Association - CMBA is an officially recognized organization and seeks to prepare students for the professional world of business through etiquette dinners, business fashion shows, and information panels.
• Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Association - UEA is a student-run organization dedicated to promoting the entrepreneurial spirit at Carnegie Mellon through competitions, business development, and networking with community entrepreneurs.
• Undergraduate Consulting Club - The mission of the Undergraduate Consulting Club is to bring students together with top consulting companies and educate the campus community about the consulting industry. We hold networking receptions, information sessions, case & interview workshops, seminars and real-life consulting projects, as well as maintain an extensive database of alumni contacts for students and consulting alums.
• UMO (Undergraduate Marketing Organization) - UMO (Undergraduate Marketing Organization) is the only organization that provides direct benefits to marketing professionals in both business and education and serves all levels of marketing practitioners, educators and students.
• Student Life Service Programs - Student Life Service Programs include: orientation service projects, Summit, Mid-semester break trip (fall), the Thanksgiving service project, MLK service projects and dimension programs
• Junior Achievement - Junior Achievement (JA) is a group of passionate people inspiring kids to learn the economics of life through free enterprise education. JA enables caring business professionals to share their experience with students to show them what it takes to be successful.
• Career Center Programs - The Career Center provides career development opportunities for students such as career shadowing, a site visit program and a workshop on how to negotiate job offers.

2) Community Organization Projects: If you believe you are achieving the goals of 70-201 through participation in a community organization, please arrange a meeting with Lauren Weinstein or Dr. Cofield to discuss this involvement and how it might apply to 70-201. Additionally, community organizations often contact the department soliciting student involvement in their activities that may be used to meet the service requirement. These are shared with interested students as they develop in order to provide students with additional opportunities not associated with specific clubs or organizations.

3) University Lecture Series & Wednesday Night Insights: Professional development through educational events such as lectures, panels and workshops complements coursework and informs practice. Students must go to ten (10) lectures and write a two-page (single-spaced) paper on each one detailing what they learned and how it relates to course objectives to fulfill 70-201. Alternatively, students can supplement other 70-201 activities, such as those through clubs and organizations with professional development opportunities to create a more comprehensive portfolio.

4) Academic courses: Certain academic courses can be used to complete 70-201 such as 15-502 and 15-391. Please discuss this option with an advisor.

5) Additional Opportunities

• Milton and Cynthia Friedman Scholarship Program
• Institute on Philanthropy and Voluntary Service

What activities can’t I use to complete 70-201?

Involvements with fraternities and sororities, religious institutions and athletic teams may not be used to complete 70-201.

How do I enroll in 70-201?

Students are only allowed to register for the course when at least 70% of the course objectives have been completed. Typically, this means after being substantially involved for one full semester or more in a club or organization. For students opting to solely attend lectures, seven lectures must be attended and students must have received an A on each essay. If, after submitting the report, it is determined that the student has met 100% of the course objectives, no further documentation is necessary and a grade will be awarded. If after submitting the report, it is determined that the student has not met 70% of the requirements, the student may request an appointment to better understand how his/her involvement has been evaluated and how he/she can best fulfill the requirements.
Students are encouraged to meet with Lauren Weinstein or Dr. Cofield at the beginning of the semester they wish to enroll in 70-201 to ensure they are on the right track and can successfully complete the requirement that semester.
Student may be registered in the course until the last day of classes in a semester and may not be enrolled prior to the first day after the end of the drop-add period.

By when do I need to complete 70-201?

Each student must complete 70-201 as a part of their degree requirements. Students who enter as freshmen should plan to complete the requirement by the end of their 5th semester. Students who transfer into undergraduate business should plan to complete the requirement by the end of the 3rd semester after their transfer. There is no cut-off date for completion of this requirement other than prior to graduation. However students are encouraged to complete the requirement within the above suggested guideline times as it if difficult to complete it without sufficient prior planning.

Questions?

There are about 5-6 information sessions per year to talk about 70-201 in greater depth and answer any questions. If you have an immediate question/concern, please contact Lauren Weinstein or Dr. Milton Cofield.