Service learning and exposure to a variety of cultures is an integral part of a Wheelock education, beginning right from our students' first year on campus. The College is proud to offer opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to participate in a variety of service learning opportunities, ranging from working in urban Boston classrooms through the Jumpstart program to traveling within the United States and around the world to practice community building in the context of a different culture.

Wheelock students are also encouraged to enhance their educational experience by studying abroad for a semester or during the summer break. Our counselors work closely with students to find study abroad opportunities that fit their interests, their pocketbook, and their academic schedule.

Jumpstart at Wheelock

Through the Jumpstart program, Wheelock students work with preschoolers from a low-income background for 10-12 hours a week over the course of a full year. Nearly a quarter of Wheelock's entering class participates in Jumpstart as part of their required field-placement, positively affecting the lives of local children in underserved populations while making connections between theories learned in the classroom and child behaviors in the community.

Learn more about Jumpstart at Wheelock.

Service Learning Trips

Wheelock hosts trips to a variety of international and domestic locations during the school year. On these trips, students are immersed in the local culture as they perform community service projects. Past trips to New Orleans, Guatemala, Mexico, Northern Ireland, Singapore, and Ghana/Benin have been wildly popular. Students have returned from the trips inspired and excited about the integration of learning and service.

Click on the links below to learn about our upcoming trips and see some photos from past trips.

New Orleans, LA, January 2013   (See a video and blogs from a past trip!)
Barbados, March 2013 (Spring Break)
Belize, May 2013
Belfast, Northern Ireland, March 2013 (Spring Break) (See photos from a past trip!)
Benin and Ghana, West Africa, May 2013 (See photos from a past trip!)
Wiemar, Buchenwald, Quedlinburg, and Berlin, Germany, May 2013
South Africa, January 2013

Study Abroad

Through our affiliation with the Colleges of the Fenway, Wheelock provides our students with many opportunities to study abroad for a semester. Trips take place throughout the academic year and during summer break. And studying abroad may be more affordable than you think. Scholarships are available and students can apply their existing Wheelock financial aid package to their trip cost. (See a list of current scholarship opportunities.)

Wheelock students have studied in Florence, Italy; Hawaii; Dublin, Ireland; Sydney and Newcastle, Australia; and many more locations.

Learn more at the Colleges of the Fenway's Geo Center website.