Outreach and Engagement

The Department of Geography, Sustainability, Community, and Urban Studies collaborates with communities to co-produce knowledge across disciplines. We engage students, scholars, and lifelong learners at UConn and beyond.

A professor points to a piece of paper while collaborating with students outside.

Current Initiatives

Sustainable Community Food Systems

Sustainable Community Food Systems offers a unique opportunity to connect theory and practice through classroom-based work with service learning and hands-on experiences in the local community. Students focus on the issues of food sustainability, environmentalism, and social justice and gain vital leadership skills.

At the heart of the Sustainable Community Food Systems minor is an intensive internship (16-20 hours per week) with a single community partner that is part of the food system.


UConn@COP Fellowship Program

Led by the Office of Sustainability, the UConn@COP Fellowship Program provides students and faculty with the opportunity to attend the annual UN Climate Change Conference (COP), where global leaders, policymakers, and advocates convene to address climate change. UConn participants gain firsthand insight into international climate negotiations, policy discussions, and efforts to advance climate justice.


Urban Semester Program

The Urban Semester Program combines classroom study, service learning through an internship, and urban living in Hartford, Connecticut. Students intern in human service agencies, government offices, and community and nonprofit organizations. They involve themselves in issues facing the city, including education, poverty, homelessness, youth issues, crime, and economic development.