High-impact Practices

Common intellectual experiences

Our core curriculum fosters shared learning experiences that will encourage you to think critically, explore diverse perspectives, and build a sense of community.

Diversity and global learning

We believe in the power of diversity to enrich learning. Our programs incorporate global perspectives, helping you become culturally competent and globally aware.

Collaborative assignments

Teamwork and collaboration are vital in the real world. At O’Neill you will engage in collaborative assignments that mirror the demands of the modern workplace.

Internships

Internships are at the heart of our commitment to high-impact practices. Your internship will provide you with real-world experiences that bridge the gap between theory and practice.

Read more about high-impact practices at O’Neill

Go to our blog

Other high-impact practices central to O’Neill

Learning communities

Our Civic Leaders Center brings together students who share common interests, developing connections with their peers and faculty members, fostering a sense of belonging, and providing a strong support system.

Undergraduate research

Our undergraduates actively participate in meaningful research projects that align with their interests and career goals, including through the O’Neill Honors Program.

Service learning/community based learning

We bring the classroom into the community. Through community partnerships such as through our O'Neill Leadership Program, students apply academic concepts to real-world situations.

Capstone project

Honors students complete a thesis alongside a faculty advisor. Other O’Neill students may take courses that require culminating projects which offer them opportunities to integrate and apply what they’ve learned.

Graduate ready for the real world

We offer our students a supportive and collaborative academic environment with hands-on opportunities for research and leadership development. After completing their undergraduate education at O’Neill, 98% of our students launch their careers or pursue higher education. 

Description of the video:

The O'Neill school equips you with the foundational tools to be active   

change makers in your community. Whether that's on a local state or federal level. 

The academic advising here is amazing. I love that all O'Neill students are assigned   

a specific advisor from their freshman year.  My advisor and I were really close. It feels   

nice and feels safe and comfortable to know that someone is in your corner. 

Being a part of a small class helped me have the personal connection with the professor and   

the TAs. It was very easy and comfortable to like talk and speak up in the class. 

In the future, I really want to work with urban green infrastructure. Every   

professor that I've met, they are just there to make sure that you have a good   

experience in that class and that you are learning the information that you need. 

Summer after my freshman year, I studied abroad in Athens Greece.   

Just seeing how policy and public management fit into these situations   

that I would have never been able to do on my own and without the school. 

I originally joined the honors program, because it seemed like an exciting way to meet like-minded students and to get this opportunity to take my education to this next level by getting to meet faculty, choosing a research area and ultimately completing a thesis as a senior. 

I had a faculty advisor who was incredibly helpful,   

incredibly supportive and steered me in the right direction and through that I   

also received an opportunity to be a research assistant. 

Over the last three and a half years, I've published three peer-reviewed research articles,   

an opportunity as an undergraduate I never would have expected. 

Entering in as a direct admit can be very valuable and it really allows you to just   

jump right in and immerse yourself. For me it's always been important to make change   

and just to make the world a better place for your peers but also for the people to come. 

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The O’Neill School equips you with the foundational tools to be an active changemaker in your community, whether that’s on a local, state, or federal level.

—Ky Freeman, BSPA’22