Instructors in the Faculty of Social Sciences play a key role in helping students connect classroom learning with real-world experience. Whether you’re introducing career concepts, building transferable skills, or designing hands-on projects, your teaching can shape how students see their future.
This page offers practical tools, funding opportunities, and collaborative supports to help you embed career development and experiential learning into your courses – no matter your teaching style or discipline.
Help students explore career paths and build professional awareness – right from your classroom.
Bring in a member of the Careers & Experiential Education team such as Cindy Schooley or a Career Advisor to deliver career-focused workshops or presentations tailored to your course.
Partner with our team to invite alumni or professionals who can share firsthand insights into their career journeys. We’ll help you coordinate speakers and ensure sessions are engaging and well-attended.
Use our program-specific career pathways pages to spark discussion and help students see where their degree can take them.
Access curated career content from the Learning Object Repository (LOR) to enrich lectures, assignments, or discussions.
Support students in building transferable skills through hands-on learning and expert-led workshops.
The C&EE team has created a skills-focus page area you might wish to use in your course planning, teaching, or student support.
Apply for funding to bring in a guest facilitator who can lead an interactive, skill-based session during class time. We’ll help cover costs and ensure the experience meets pedagogical goals.
Design immersive learning experiences that connect theory with practice.
Not sure where to start? Our guide helps you define experiential learning and design course elements that meet institutional and pedagogical standards.
Apply for funding to support simulations, field trips, or other hands-on activities that take place during scheduled class time. This fund helps cover costs like materials, admission fees, or licenses.
In addition to Soc Sci Careers & EE team supports, instructions in the Social Sciences can draw on the resources, funding, and staff support of the MacPherson Institute for Teaching and Learning.
Review our guide to McMaster's framework for planning a safe and workable field trip.
Your teaching goals may also include additional dimensions or priorities not covered above. These additional resources and supports may be helpful:
S4E Microgrants support equity-focused initiatives through McMaster’s Students, Staff, and Scholars Stimulating Equity microgrant.
Sessional instructors or contract instructors for CUPE 3906 can apply for funding to support teaching-related professional development.
McMaster’s Office of Community Engagement offers small catalyst grants to McMaster University members through the Community-Campus Catalyst Grant Fund.
The Office of Community Engagement has piloted a fund to ensure that community partners are compensated for their time when contributing to teaching and learning at McMaster.
We’re here to support your teaching goals. Reach out to any member of our team to explore ideas, ask questions, or start planning.
Manager, Careers & Experiential Education
Experiential Programming & Outreach Manager
Career Development Advisor
We can help you to build a budgetary and strategic plan to sustain the experiential or career-focused elements of your course in the long run.