U. S. news and world report selected florida southern college as having the best undergraduate teaching in the regional universities category for 2022
Christoverson Humanities Building

Under­graduate Academics

Academics is more than just your major…

Our students appreciate small classes that engage them with hands-on activities, discussions, presentations, guest speakers, and experiences designed to bring their education to life.

70+
Programs
149
Full-Time Faculty
14:1
Student-Faculty Ratio
34+
Study Abroad Options

Internships

Internships are a key part of experiential education because they allow students to apply in real-world situations what they are learning in the classroom.

Find Out More about our student internships
Kallie Motola

Kallie Motola

Where:

Tegucigalpa, Honduras

Trash Mountain Project and Armor Fe Esperanza (EFA)

What:

In Honduras, my team and I built a home for a family previously living on the city trash dump. We worked with EFA, which is a free school for children in every grade, and it provides education, clothing, and meals. I went to Honduras through Ridge Point Community Church. Each year it sends a team on a mission trip, and this past summer it was with Trash Mountain Project.

Why:

I knew it was my turn to make a difference in a family’s life! I enjoy helping family members change their lives for the better. One family of three that I worked with — Antonio, Datiana and Reyna — has been living in a home made out of trash from the dump. Datiana, the youngest, has been unable to attend school because she has had to help her family work. Helping all of them get to a better place and give Datiana better opportunities was what I enjoyed most! The most challenging part for me was not staying longer.

While building the home, I connected deeply with Datiana and found out that her favorite color is pink. We eventually saved enough money to paint one of the panels in her room pink. It was so exciting to see that happen! Psychology classes at FSC helped me understand different cultures in comparison to that of the United States and the western world.

Jake Griner

Jake Griner

Where:

Bethesda, Maryland

National Cancer Institute

What:

As part of the Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology, my research focused on immunotherapy for the treatment of cancer.

Why:

I worked on chordoma, a rare cancer that my father passed away from which is only being studied in a handful of labs worldwide. I looked at ways to combine radiation therapy (a standard of care for Chordoma) with Erbitux (cetuximab), an FDA approved monoclonal antibody. My research found that radiation sensitizes tumor cells to cetuximab treatment, providing the rationale for a study to evaluate the efficacy of Cetuximab and Radiation for chordoma.

Jordan Howard

Jordan Howard

Where:

Manhattan, Kansas

Kansas State University

How:

My faculty mentor, Dr. Smith, recommended that I look into summer research programs to gain additional experience before applying for graduate school, so I searched for summer research programs in my field of interest, behavioral neuroscience. I came across the application at Kansas State and was very interested in the lab there.

What:

We designed a task to parse out three individual components of episodic-like memory in rats (what, where, and when), but with the current design, we believed we were only see the utilization of two components. My graduate research mentor and I sat down and brainstormed how we could alter the task to correctly parse out the third component. After reading many journal articles and thinking critically about the issue at hand, I proposed an idea to implement in the task to look at the third component. We altered the task to reflect the idea, which allowed us to further analyze the third component and perfect the task.

Why:

My lab members were very open and accepting, and made me feel like a vital member of the lab from the very beginning. I went into work every day knowing that I was going to be challenged intellectually and pushed to do the best research possible. This has helped me, not only as a researcher, but also in my everyday life. My summer research experience greatly increased my knowledge of my major. Most importantly, I was able to take the techniques and procedures I have learned in my lectures and utilize them myself. It is one thing to read about Pavlov utilizing classical conditioning, but when you use the techniques yourself, you gain a deeper and more profound knowledge and respect for the field.

Shaelyn Robinson

Shaelyn Robinson

Where:

Home of the Sparrow & Family Health Partnership Clinic

Mchenry/Crystal Lake, Illinois

How:

I had to both apply and interview for two positions. I found the shelter and the clinic through searching in need shelters in my area and off of the recommendations from the hospital staff I had previously volunteered with.

What:

I volunteered at a home for domestic abuse victims and a female health clinic near my home every week. My role was to tutor these women so that they were able to finally pass the GED at the end of their sessioEmily McPartlinns with me!

I enjoyed being able to actually make an impact through volunteering. Sometimes in a clinical setting, you don’t feel like you’re actually participating in the establishments mission, but in these settings I was able to lend the knowledge and experience I had for the betterment of my own community. Being underqualified to teach some of the subjects was a challenge I had to outsource to become better. Making activities for the one dyslexic women in my group was challenging and required patience and creativity to see something I find natural in a different light, and then create a learning system based off of something I cannot experience.

Why:

I am now more compassionate and patient and appreciate the opportunities I was set up with much more now than I did before this summer. Simple things like being able bodied and mentally sound are things I did not fully appreciate before my tutoring and clinical experience this summer. This relates to my career goals or being a health care provider, though not necessarily my major.

Undergraduate Research

Enhance your educational experience at FSC by working closely with a faculty member to pursue scholarly research and creative activities in your field of study.

Find Out More
Students peer into a petri dish

Career Outcomes

Nothing illustrates the value of a Florida Southern education more powerfully than the success of our graduates.

Find Out How

Honors Program

The Honors Program fosters an active and engaged learning environment within a community of scholars.

Take the Challenge

Accelerated Program Options

At Florida Southern College motivated students can put their careers on the fast-track.