The CPDC offers students a challenging opportunity to volunteer as clinicians and work directly with children and youth with disabilities, ages 18 months to 18 years.

Bridgewater has sponsored the CPDC program for more than 38 years. Its aim is to improve the "total development" of children with disabilities by enhancing vital physical, motor and aquatic skills and patterns. In addition, the program stresses the improvement of children's self-esteem by strengthening emotional-social aspects of their personalities through successful involvement in play, recreation and sport activities.

A nationally recognized academic program, the CPDC also fosters professional development, service learning and leadership development. Over one hundred students serve as clinicians and group leaders each semester, making the CPDC the largest student organization on campus. Over the years, BSU students have determined that the CPDC not only augments their professional preparation, but gives them a critical edge when seeking employment and/or entrance to graduate school.

An internship is a work experience – and an invaluable learning moment as well. It’s a way to test out a career, establish a work history, apply your classroom knowledge to real-world situations and begin building a network of useful contacts. In many cases, an internship at Bridgewater paves the way to full-time employment after graduation.

Internships also provide opportunities to develop important life skills. They can boost your self-confidence, improve your communication and interaction abilities, increase your motivation to learn and help you achieve greater clarity about your goals in life.

At Bridgewater, we believe that a career-related work experience is wonderful for your resume and will contribute in positive ways to your personal growth. In fact, our conviction is so strong that we’ve established a paid-internship program for students who otherwise could not afford to leave a current job. Visit our office and learn more!

The Honors Program at Bridgewater provides incentives and resources to encourage gifted and highly motivated students to reach their highest intellectual potential through critical thinking, scholarship and research.

The Program's small Honors classes feature close student-faculty interaction and promote the vigorous and thorough exchange of ideas while fostering the investigative, analytical, and creative skills necessary for scholarly research. In addition, students are encouraged to draw upon the support services of the Honors Center and to participate in the various social activities sponsored by the Program throughout the academic year.

In pursuing these goals, the Program seeks to enrich the entire university curriculum; more than 80% of Honors students' academic work is completed in non-Honors classes, where their presence enlivens discussion and helps to model intellectual possibilities for all students.

http://www.bridgew.edu/HonorsProgram/

Bridgewater believes in serving our communities, and we support and promote service learning as a way to enrich our academic courses and encourage students to be engaged, aware citizens.

Service learning is a teaching methodology that utilizes community service as a means of helping students gain a deeper understanding of course objectives, acquire new knowledge, and engage in civic activity. In contrast to community service, service learning applies to specific course content and helps to clarify specific theoretical concepts.

At Bridgewater, service learning is supported and promoted through the activities of the Service Learning Faculty Associate, an Advisory Board of faculty and staff, the Community Service Center and its Director and staff, and information made available to all faculty through our website and other sources. We also benefit from a partnership with the Director of the Second-Year Seminars, who is working to develop a set of new writing- or speaking-intensive courses for Bridgewater’s core curriculum.

Bridgewater students experience new cultures and expand their horizons by studying abroad – for a summer, a winter, a semester or a year.

The Office of Study Abroad offers more than 75 programs in more than 35 countries all over the world. You can study as far away as China or as close as Canada, in a small village, on a coffee plantation, or on a large ship at sea. You might take courses at a university in Ireland, Hong Kong, or Australia; student teach at a school in England or Puerto Rico; study business in India or art in Tanzania; conduct field research or community service in Cambodia, Nicaragua, or Cape Verde; or study with BSU students in France, New Zealand, or Spain – and these are just a few examples. Best of all, you can study abroad and still graduate on time.

Studying abroad is a great way to absorb a new culture and gain proficiency in another language. There is no better way to learn about yourself, expand your worldview, acquire marketable skills, and – most important – develop the habits of mind and action that will prepare you to tackle the global issues facing our time.

The BSU Office of Study Abroad administers study abroad programs to suit every student: exchanges, study tours, semester programs and summer programs. Begin your journey by visiting our site and viewing program information online, attending a Study Abroad 101, or attending walk-in hours.

In contrast to other research universities, Bridgewater offers funded research opportunities to undergraduate students – many of whom present findings at local and national conferences. In fact, we are the only public college or university in Massachusetts to offer these opportunities.

For students who are always looking for ways to learn more, we have developed programs like the Adrian Tinsley Program for Undergraduate Research and the Shea Scholar Program to support and encourage undergraduates who undertake in-depth scholarly pursuits in virtually any subject. With guidance from faculty mentors, our students design their own research projects and proceed through the steps of inquiry, critical thinking and writing that will lead to a finished paper.

We are proud of the hundreds of BSU students who have presented their findings at local and national symposiums and conferences, including the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR).