Two practica are required for graduation
Mount Liberty College prides itself in offering a classical education, as distinguished from the “training” offered by most colleges in the United States today. It is our belief that an MLC education provides the breadth of background needed for any calling or occupation, from law to dental hygiene to family and community development.
Consequently, as a requirement for graduation, MLC requires all students to experience aspects of life where the integration of classical education meets life as it is lived by people in the community. These practica should serve as a bridge between the abstraction of a classical education and the reality of necessary gainful employment.
Practica will not be provided directly by the college, but the following are areas in which students can fulfill the practicum requirement:
- Business. This could include paid or unpaid internships working for a private company, large or small.
- Humanitarian. This could include participation in a journey to a foreign country to provide medical or other humanitarian service to underserved communities.
- Community service. This could include service at a local public or private agency providing medical or humanitarian services, education or tutoring services, reading to the blind, etc.
- Politics. This could include volunteer or paid services in a political campaign or in the office operations of an elected official.
- Policy. There are many organizations working to shape public policy at the local, national and even international level. Participation with one of these groups would satisfy the practicum requirement.
- Job Training. This could include any number of certifications, job training, or entrepreneurial education which will help prepare a student for future employment opportunities.
IMPORTANT: As students look for practica opportunities and complete their training in a selected field or industry, there are a few points to keep in mind.
Before beginning any practicum, students will have had at least two years exposure to the principles of a liberal education. In virtually every MLC class there are certain universal themes that recur and that are emphasized during the course of a liberal arts education. These include, but are not limited to, liberty, and the conditions that make it possible; family relations, their nature, fragility and perseverance; political legitimacy; social hierarchies and their persistence and transcendence; religion and the nature of man.
It may at first blush be difficult to see the application of these (and other) broad themes to the nitty-gritty of modern life and the earning of a living, but we assure you that there is no way of making a living and establishing social and economic relationships that does not have its roots in the overarching themes just mentioned.
It will be the task of each student fulfilling the practicum requirements to understand how those themes work into the field selected for the practicum. MLC mentors can provide some guidance in how to look for these connections, but the students themselves, if they are to get credit for a successful practicum, will have to do most of the heavy lifting. They should have some idea at the outset which of these themes is likely implicated in their chosen practicum. No credit will be given to a student who cannot at the end of the practicum discuss in some detail how their chosen field, project, or internship fits into our civilization, and how the liberal arts principles can be used to defend it.
***From Ella Johnson, class of 2025; “Part of my job with the National Journalism Center is putting together a job bank for NJC grads. There are a ton of awesome internship options, and I think our students would be a good fit for many of them. Mostly political/communications/journalism internships, but if anyone is looking for a good practicum, send them my way and I can give them some options.”
Ella’s email: ella@johnsonherd.com
Other Requirements:
*No specific number of hours is required. That will be a decision between the student and the college.
*The two practica need to be substantively different in order to fulfill this requirement.
*These should occur sometime after the sophomore year when students will be more prepared to begin building that bridge between their education and employment.
Steps for Practica:
- Before beginning any practica, fill out the application and submit for approval.
- Once written approval has been given, the student is free to work on the approved practicum project.
- Upon completion, a summary must be submitted to receive credit.