Undergraduate Admissions: Student Involvement

Student volunteering in the community

Social Action and Volunteering

It's typical to find Clark students engaged in a variety of projects that enhance their learning and make a difference in Clark's neighborhood. Clark students volunteer in many organizations around Worcester's Main South neighborhood and are also involved in coursework, research projects and internships in the campus, local and global communities. Learn more.

Center for Community Engagement and Volunteering (CEV)

The CEV maintains a comprehensive database of community agencies and volunteer needs. Clarkies often volunteer in the neighborhood at organizations like the Main South Community Development Corporation and the local Boys & Girls Club. Throughout the year, the CEV organizes many community-oriented events and forums at Clark, including the Volunteer Fair, the Food for Thought Dialogue series and Just Do It Day. The staff also works closely with faculty members to develop and implement community-based learning courses. Additionally, the CEV advises several student groups that are active in the Worcester community, including the Fiat Lux Honor Society, the Making a Difference Scholars and the CARE (Community Action Reform Education) Initiative.

Integrating Service with Learning

Clark's commitment to community service extends beyond campus and the city of Worcester. At Clark, you’ll learn by becoming actively engaged with your studies, rolling up your sleeves and testing theory—and your own ideas—with practice:

  • Students in Clark's Innovation & Entrepreneurship minor, for example, start their own businesses.
  • Holocaust and genocide studies students work with refugees in the United States and travel to other countries to gain a better understanding of the impact of genocide and what strategies may prevent them.
  • International development and social change students work in the Worcester community to help bring about positive change while learning about community development.
  • Biology majors conduct research that contributes to the Human Genome Project, the Assembling the Fungal Tree of Life project and other significant scientific research initiatives that will have broad and long-term impacts on our lives.
  • Clark students conduct hands-on research and service abroad.

University Park Partnership

The University Park Partnership (UPP) is a national model for neighborhood revitalization. The result of long-standing collaboration between Clark University and its surrounding community, UPP is a broad, grassroots partnership that involves neighborhood residents and organizations, local churches, government officials, the business community and public schools. These groups are organized around the Main South Community Development Corporation (CDC), the neighborhood's development organization and key component of UPP. The University's interest in UPP is rooted in its responsibility to the neighborhood it shares, and in its long-standing tradition of applying teaching and learning to real-world problems.

University Park Campus School

The University Park Campus School (UPCS) is a grade 7-12 school a few blocks from the Clark's campus that serves 232 students in Worcester, Mass. The only requirement for entry to UPCS is that students live in the immediate neighborhood of the school. Three-quarters of the students qualify for free lunch; two-thirds come from homes where English is not spoken. Thirty seven percent of the school’s students are Latino, 18 percent are Asian Americans, and 11 percent are African American. Many of the white students are recent arrivals from Eastern Europe who enter the school speaking only a few words of English.

In partnership with Clark University, UPCS has compiled an unparalleled record of academic achievement since opening its doors in 1997. For the last five years, UPCS has ranked first among urban schools serving low-income students on state-mandated English and math graduation exams and in the top quartile of all high schools in the state. Over 95% of graduates from its first four graduating classes have gone on to college. Nearly all are first generation college attendees. Learn more about the University Park Campus School.