At APU, a crucial part of your education involves real world experience.
Each major offers a practicum experience that adds technical problem solving skills to the student’s professional repertoire. The practicum provides experience involving real world issues in the major, and develops the student’s network of professional contacts.
Students achieving junior-level standing enroll in three to twelve credits of practicum.
These credits are earned, at times within the Department, working with a faculty mentor on that faculty member’s research, or perhaps on maintenance of standing infrastructure vital to department functioning, such as the research and teaching aquaria of the Marine Biology Area within the Department.
Other practica have been pursued by students working for non-governmental organizations (NGO’s), state or federal agencies, and a variety of private firms.
The most important thing about the junior practicum is that it allows students to work on projects within complex organizations, developing collaborative and work-oriented skills that have direct correlation to future employment or education.