Essential Education

Essential Education Experience for Students

Learn the Skills to Make an Impact in the World

Exploring art and ecology in the forests of Sweden. Developing policy solutions for real-world clients. Teaching Spanish to local middle schoolers. Taking your student organization to the next level. These are just a few of the opportunities you might find in an Essential Education Experience (E3) course.

E3s are upper-division, hands-on courses that help you apply the Essential Abilities you’ve gained in a real-world context. You’ll build skills in stakeholder engagement, team management, and navigating cross-cultural differences while working on a project that connects with communities beyond the traditional classroom.

Most E3s are rooted in SHAPE disciplines—Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts for People and the Environment/Economy—and include a strong immersive or community engagement component. As part of the experience, you’ll also create an ePortfolio to reflect on your learning and showcase your knowledge, growth, and skills to future employers.

Students camping on Sweden trip
Students in Spanish Class
Students talking a break in the woods on the Sweden trip
Working at the Nara Family Maple Farm

Make an Impact—Wherever You Are

Lead Change on Campus

Whether you’re into storytelling, leadership, or student life, you can complete your E3 right here at Michigan Tech. Take a course like Documentary Filmmaking to share powerful narratives—or level up your current involvement through a wrap-around E3 course. These courses pair with your existing commitments, such as MindTrekkers, PAWS, or Fraternity and Sorority Life, helping you turn your campus engagement into leadership growth and real-world skills.

Strengthen Our Local Community

Get hands-on experience solving real issues in the Keweenaw. E3 courses focused on local impact challenge students to engage with diverse perspectives, contribute to economic and social initiatives, and make a meaningful difference right here at home. You’ll connect with community partners, apply your classroom knowledge, and see the results of your work in action.

Explore the World Through Study Away

Looking for a bigger adventure? Some faculty-led Study Away and Study Abroad programs qualify as E3s—combining immersive travel with meaningful projects in communities far from home. You’ll gain intercultural experience, learn to collaborate across borders, and return with a new perspective—and a powerful story to tell.

student working in a garden in Sweden
"Spending Midsummer on the small island of Arholma offered more than cultural immersion; it gave us a living classroom."Joelle White, '27, environmental engineering

Plan Your Experience

There is a wide range of E3s for students to engage with at Michigan Tech. Browse the full listing of E3 courses or check out the course offerings for next academic year. 

Fall 2025

Spring 2026

What's the Benefit?

Because experience matters—and not just on your résumé.

Taking an E3 course gives you the chance to build real skills, make meaningful connections, and tackle challenges that actually impact people. Research shows (and employers agree) that community-based, hands-on learning helps you grow as a communicator, teammate, and leader—while also making you more competitive in your career.

It’s not just Tech saying this, employers think so too.

But it's about more than jobs. It’s about becoming the kind of person who can listen, adapt, and lead—someone who shows up for their community and the world around them.

At Michigan Tech, we believe that tomorrow needs more than knowledge—it needs empathy, initiative, and action. That’s where you come in.

students walking in the woods in Sweden