EHS Signature Courses

The EHS Signature Courses make it possible for you to "Do GOOD Work" in the local community as part of your coursework. Throughout these courses, you'll cultivate the ability to see multiple perspectives, examine your assumptions of others, make connections between the classroom and field experiences, and apply what you've learned to new, complex situations. 

These courses are woven into your time at Champlain as a part of a four-year, innovative Capstone experience. Starting on day one, you'll be focused on integrated thinking and learning in EHS 100 as you are welcomed as a member of our community. 

Year One: Making Connections

• EHS 100: Making Connections This one credit, pass/fail service course is focused on integrating classroom concepts into service efforts. Our small, seminar-style classes allow you to interact with students from different majors within the Division of Education & Human Studies, encouraging you to meet your peers and learn from their perspectives.

One previous project in EHS 100 was a Fair Trade Cocoa Campaign on Burlington's Church Street Marketplace; students collaborated with the Peace & Justice Center in Burlington to raise awareness about Fair Trade policies, politics, and human exploitation in developing nations where Fair Trade policies are not observed.

Years Two & Three: Hot topics and Social Justice Intensive

Based on your major, you'll either take EHS 200: Hot Topics Seminar or EHS 210: Social Justice Intensive during your sophomore and junior years. These are six-week courses that thoughtfully examine controversial topics that impact all EHS professionals. 

• EHS 200: Hot Topics Seminar You'll view films, listen to speakers, and discuss topics from multiple perspectives in this seminar class. Professional ethics—something every EHS graduate needs—will be an essential element of this class. A recent Hot Topics Seminar, Gender & Justice, explored modern issues of gender. A panel of local activists and advocates fielded questions related to gender equity as a social justice issue and described how their professional work supports gender-equity efforts.
  
  
• EHS 210: Social Justice Intensive This class includes a practical, social-justice themed project that explores the meaning of social justice within your future profession. In this seminar, you'll participate in a meaningful, real-world experience based on a social justice theme and examine that experience from the multiple professional perspectives in the class.

Year Four: College Capstone

Each previous EHS Signature Course has been building up to your Capstone class, which helps you navigate the transition from student to professional.

• EHS 410: The College Capstone Your senior Capstone class includes a field-based, hands-on project in which you articulate critical questions and possible solutions to a challenge that professionals in your field face. The Capstone is a personalized opportunity for you to celebrate the cumulative contributions of your time at Champlain and bring that work forward into your career.