Service-Learning Courses - Carolina Center for Public Service

Service-Learning Courses - Carolina Center for Public Service
Service-Learning Courses
APPLES courses integrate the course goals with relevant community service to increase students’ understanding of the course content and its impact on local communities.
Each semester, more than 50 APPLES courses are offered and most fulfill the experiential education requirement.
Unless otherwise noted, students register for APPLES courses through Connect Carolina
. The APPLES program does not register students for service-learning courses; students needing assistance in finding an open service-learning course should contact academic advising.
APPLES is currently affiliated with more than 250 Triangle-area community partners where students can fulfill their service-learning requirement. APPLES partners allow students to provide a wide array of services while addressing different issues affecting our communities such as education, health, environment, homelessness, literacy, hunger and economic development.
Take a Service-Learning Course
Make sure you have the time
. Students in courses commit to serving at least 30 hours throughout the semester. Schedules for available volunteer opportunities are posted typically in the first week of class.
Review the posted course listing.
This is typically posted the week before registration begins. These courses fill quickly, and some have special requirements. Make sure to read these carefully and submit any applications or other materials.
Enroll using Connect Carolina.
Unless a course requires instructor permission or an application, students can enroll in APPLES courses through Connect Carolina.
Find APPLES Spring 2026 Courses below: (You may also check Connect Carolina and search courses by HI-Service Learning.)
APPLES Service-Learning Courses: Fall 2026
***Please note: Some APPLES service-learning courses may not fulfill the experiential education and/or high-impact experience requirement. It is important to confirm this in advance if you are taking the course for this reason.
***This list is SUBJECT TO CHANGE. Please use this as a reference list and make sure to cross-reference with the ConnectCarolina listings.
All APPLES courses require a minimum of 30 hours of service (as of fall 2025). The registration process for APPLES courses is through ConnectCarolina, unless a course is noted as requiring an application or instructor permission. For questions about registration, students should contact an academic adviser.
ANTH 582 (001)
Fieldwork with Social Models of Well-Being
BIOL 119 (001)
Experiencing Health Professions
BUSI 475 (001)
Nonprofit Leadership
COMM 426 (001)
Community & Community
COMM 625 (001)
Communication and Nonprofits in the Global Contexts
GERM 307 (001)
German for Educational and Community Engagement
HBEH 611 (001)
Philanthropy as a Tool for Social Change
HNRS 390
(003)
Honors Seminar
Special Topics
MEJO 332 (001 – 007)
Public Relations Writing
MEJO 459
(001)
Community Journalism
NURS 619
(001)
Health Professions Experience
PLCY 393
(001)
Public Policy Clinic
PLCY 698 (001
005)
Capstone in Public Policy
ROML 194
(001 – 004)
APPLES
EDUC 387 (001 – 002)
Peer Tutoring
EDUC 400 (001)
Autism In Our Communities
EDUC 583 (001 – 002)
Career & Professional Development
EDUC 615 (001-002)
Schools & Comm Coll
EDUC 617 (001)
Teaching Middle School
EPUBA 401 (001)
State/Local Governance
SSOCI 273 (001)
Social & Econ Justice, Service
WGST 340 (001)
Leadership in Violence Prevention
Once enrolled, students can maximize their service-learning experience with these easy steps. APPLES staff is available to assist with questions or concerns.
Apply for a partnership grant
. As students volunteer during the semester, students can apply for a
partnership grant
to deepen the service-learning experience. These grants fund supplementary materials for enhancement projects related to the student’s work with the community.
Complete the online module
. Students can begin preparing for APPLES courses before the semester begins by completing the
online course module
. This module introduces students to the requirements, considerations and foundations of a service-learning experience.
Review the community partner listing.
During the first few class meetings, students can view a listing of possible community partner opportunities. Each course has a unique process to assign volunteers to specific sites, keeping in mind student preferences, transportation and schedules.
Contact the community partner
. Once a volunteer opportunity has been assigned, students should immediately contact the community partner and introduce themselves as an APPLES volunteer. Many courses require students to complete a
service-learning agreement
time log
or other forms to begin the service-learning experience. Students should be prepared in the initial meeting to review important information including: schedule for volunteering, dress codes, confidentiality, required tests or trainings, etc.
Teach a Service-Learning Course
APPLES offers an array of services and resources to assist faculty in the development and integration of service-learning experiences in the classroom. Although specific understandings of service-learning pedagogy vary as the field has grown, the range of definitions has begun to converge on several core characteristics of service-learning. APPLES Service-Learning uses Bringle & Hatcher’s (1995) definition of academic service-learning as a “course-based, credit-bearing educational experience in which students participate in an organized service activity that meets identified community needs and reflect on the service activity in such a way as to gain further understanding of course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline  and an enhanced sense of personal values and civic responsibility.”
At a minimum, service-learning courses must meet the following criteria:
the course has a formal, academic curriculum that is rooted in the discipline in which the course is being offered
the course contains a set of organized community-based learning activities through which students directly serve a constituency as a means to address an identified community need through a minimum of 30 hours of service
the course provides structured opportunities for students to critically connect their service activities to the course curriculum
The APPLES staff is available to all faculty and instructors interested in service-learning pedagogy. Each semester, APPLES is working with more faculty, new disciplines and exciting courses. Faculty new to service-learning should contact Margaret Barrett (margaret.barrett@unc.edu) to schedule a consultation with a staff member.
To prepare for an APPLES course, consider the timeline below. For specific questions, contact
APPLES
BEGINNING TO THINK ABOUT A COURSE
Contact
APPLES
for a consultation and start researching potential community partners.
Review the Service-Learning Series, which includes various resources for faculty and course instructors:
Introduction to Service-Learning
Course Planning and Design
Community Partnerships
Reflection Resources
Service-Learning Forms
Attend the Course Development Institute, which is held in May each year and provides interested instructors with more information about teaching service-learning. For more information, contact APPLES (apples@unc.edu).
SERVICE-LEARNING DESIGNATION FOR A COURSE
Submit finalized syllabus to the APPLES office for review.
Alert the APPLES office of the course you intend to teach by Sept. 15 (for spring semester courses) and March 15 (for fall semester courses).
PREPARING FOR THE SEMESTER
Submit contact information of community partners to the APPLES office.
Reconfirm plans with community partners.
EARLY IN THE SEMESTER
Require students to complete the
APPLES online module
at the beginning of the semester.
Distribute APPLES forms at the beginning of the semester.
Students select their community partner.
Students begin volunteering by the third week of class.
MID-SEMESTER
Check-in with community partners monthly.
END OF THE SEMESTER
Debrief with community partners.
Distribute course evaluation to students.
Complete faculty evaluation.
Various resources are available to faculty interested in developing a service-learning course. APPLES provides consultations with faculty and instructors on course design, providing resources to prepare students and cultivating community partnerships.
Faculty should begin conversations with community partners as early as possible to prepare for a course. This includes the initial stages of course development, as community partners offer a valuable perspective on the possibilities of service-learning in the community. Prior to teaching an APPLES course, faculty should continue conversations with community partners to confirm plans and to further discuss details.
The Service-Learning Series (above) is available for faculty teaching service-learning and provides an overview of service-learning, resources of course development, approaches to community partnerships and strategies for incorporating reflection.
Faculty should include information in the syllabus about specifics relating to service learning, including:
A statement about why service-learning is integrated into the course
Information about the community partners working with the course
How students will demonstrate what they are learning in relation to the service and course content
Once a course is developed the syllabus is reviewed by APPLES and submitted to the Office of Undergraduate Curricula for experiential education designation. Faculty must notify the APPLES office about teaching a service-learning course two months prior to the first day of student registration.
Course Development and Course Enhancement Grants are offered to faculty to build and enhance their service-learning courses. Applications are currently closed for the Spring 2025 semester. They will reopen at the start of the Fall 2025 semester.
You can view and submit applications on the
CCPS Portal
A few weeks prior to the start of the semester, it is recommended to email enrolled students about the details of an APPLES course. This can confirm the commitment and intention of students and can even allow the students to begin volunteering as early as possible when the semester begins.
Faculty considering to develop or teach a service-learning course should contact Margaret Barrett (margaret.barrett@unc.edu).
APPLES maintains a service-learning syllabi bank and syllabi are available upon request. A sampling of APPLES course syllabi are available and are useful in understanding the different approaches and applications of service-learning across disciplines.
BIOL 294 Community Donations of the Cellular Components of Blood
ENGL 266 Into the Woods
COMM 668H The Ethnographic (Re)Turn
HBHE 610 Critical Approaches to Service-Learning: An Alternative Spring Break Course
JOMC 232 Public Relations Writing
More service-learning resources can be found here
Partner with a Service- Learning Course
Most community partners are involved with service-learning courses. Students enrolled in designated service-learning classes combine academic coursework with community service. The service experience is directly linked to the content of their course. As a part of the course, students commit to serving three to five hours a week for 10 weeks with a specific community partner for a minimum of 30 hours over the course of the semester.
Organizations interested in becoming a community partner should contact Kate Palmer (kate.palmer@unc.edu) for more information.
Each semester APPLES course listings change and so do the needs of our community partners. Please review the listing of APPLES courses for the upcoming semester and consider how your needs can complement course content for a student volunteer. A volunteer supervisor is essential for providing on-going feedback to the student volunteer as well as evaluating their performance at the end of the semester. The service experience must be feasibly completed in three to five hours a week over a 10-week period during the semester.
Step 1
Review the upcoming semester’s course offerings.
Step 2
Request a student volunteer by contacting the coordinator for the course. This information is sent on the listserv. Please contact
Kate Palmer
to be added to the partner listserv.
Step 3
APPLES will contact you with more information about courses and volunteers prior to the start of the semester.
Explore more opportunities
APPLES Service-Learning
Buckley Public Service Scholars
Faculty and Staff Opportunities
Explore All Programs