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The CALS E3 Learning Milestone

Real learning happens when you put knowledge into practice. 

That's why every CALS student completes the E3 Learning Milestone – a meaningful experience that connects your academic studies with hands-on practice while making a real impact in your community.

What is E3?

E3 stands for Experiential, Engaged, and Entrepreneurial learning. With multiple ways to complete this milestone, you can choose experiences that align with your individual learning goals and major. Your E3 experience might focus on one or combine elements from all three areas:

  • Experiential – learning by doing and applying classroom knowledge to real situations
  • Engaged – working with communities and collaborating with diverse partners
  • Entrepreneurial – developing skills to turn creative ideas into action

Why E3 Matters for Every CALS Student

We believe all CALS graduates should have meaningful real-world experience before they leave. Through your E3 experience, you'll develop practical skills, make valuable connections, contribute to positive change, and build confidence as a knowledgeable, responsible leader.

Ways to Complete Your E3 Learning Milestone

CALS offers many ways to complete your E3 Learning Milestone. Each option has specific requirements to ensure you get the full E3 experience. Some courses are pre-approved as E3 experiences, while other activities like research, internships, and study abroad can fulfill the milestone when they meet E3 criteria and follow the approval process.

Students inspect bees.

Courses

  1. Enroll in a CU-CEL or EEE-AG tagged course
  2. Complete course
  3. Automatically captured by Stellic
  4. E3 Learning milestone achieved!

E3 Research or E3 Learning Assistantship

  1. Talk to your proposed supervisor and clarify expectations and plan
  2. Complete approval form for E3 Research or E3 Learning Assistantship and enroll
  3. Complete course
  4. Automatically captured by Stellic
  5. E3 Learning milestone achieved!

Other Experiences

  1. Contact your advisor for approval.
  2. Determine if it meets E3 criteria and how to demonstrate completion.
  3. Complete program/experience
  4. Manually entered into Stellic by advisor or E3 coordinator
  5. E3 Learning milestone achieved!

Pre/Post Course

  1. Enroll in EEE-AG tagged pre/post course (if available)
  2. Complete course
  3. Automatically captured by Stellic
  4. E3 Learning milestone achieved!

What You'll Achieve

By the end of your E3 experience, you'll have developed critical skills for success in your career and as an engaged citizen. Every E3 experience is designed to help you reflect on and articulate your growth.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of a course or experience that fulfills the E3 Learning Milestone requirement, students should be able to:

  • Make connections between their disciplinary and scholarly learning and the practice or application of that knowledge.
  • Explain how their course/experience contributes to and is informed by their learning goals at Cornell.
  • Explain how they engaged with and contributed to, or served, a community or cause greater than themselves.

Your Impact

The E3 Learning Milestone ensures that every CALS graduate is more than just academically prepared – you'll be empowered as a contributor, innovator, and engaged citizen ready to make a difference in our interconnected world.