“”Discover Chicago”" is designed for incoming freshmen and consists of a week-long immersion program that focuses on Chicago and is taught by faculty from ten departments in the University. Students work in groups of 18 with a faculty member, a student affairs professional and a student mentor. They experience Chicago’s neighborhoods and institutions through readings, presentations and discussions, and they continue to meet throughout the term to reflect on their experiences and to complete a major project. Discover Chicago’s purpose is to introduce the students to the city, to one another and to the distinctive culture of DePaul and have them give one day during this week for community service. Discover Chicago is a natural lead-in for students to the junior year experiential learning requirement, during which they take a community-based service learning course. Discover Chicago is only one part of a larger Liberal Studies Program that seeks to combine the traditions of the liberal arts with social engagement.

DePaul University is a Catholic, urban institution, which was founded in 1898 to educate the children of Chicago’s large immigrant community, and has had service and citizenship as part of its core values throughout its history. DePaul has taken very seriously its responsibilities as a member of the larger community of Chicago. As it grew, the University included in its mission the education not only of first generation Americans, but also other non-traditional and underserved students and has as one of its goals being an internationally known provider of the highest quality professional education for adult, part-time students. In recent years the University has intensified its efforts at community service through a wide variety of programs that aim to provide solutions to the problems that face Chicago and many other large American cities.

“”Discover Chicago”" web site: http://condor.depaul.edu/~firstyr/discover.html