Being involved at JMU leads to networking opportunities and meaningful bonds that last a lifetime. Staying involved inside and outside the classroom helps you find your people and connect with your passion. It also helps you practice skills that will be vital to your success after JMU.
The best time to get involved
This is a time to find yourself. And getting involved outside the classroom is the best way to make your mark and discover your passion.
At the beginning of each semester, JMU’s clubs and organizations come together at Student Org Night. This event includes music, food and raffles, but above all, it gives you the opportunity to meet your peers and browse all of the ways to get involved on campus.
Try something completely different or dig into an existing interest. With over 450 clubs and orgs at JMU, you’ll find a range from academic to special-interest clubs, a capella groups, community service teams, faith-based organizations, cultural groups. There is something here for everyone.
For a full list of JMU’s clubs and organizations, check out the Be Involved website.
Serving the community
Community service is an important part of the JMU culture. These experiences offer students the opportunity to help others while gaining invaluable understanding about life.
You’ll find opportunities to serve the local and global community through student organizations, class projects and the Office of Community Service-Learning. To learn more about community service-learning at JMU, check out the CS-L website.
“There are plenty of opportunities to serve. And that’s what stands out about JMU to me.” - James Short (Class of 2019)
Alternative Break Program
Serving the community is such a big part of JMU’s culture that students even spend spring break volunteering for organizations around the country and globe. You heard that right. Every year, about 500 students participate in an alternative break trips.
Students have traveled to California to measure climate change in Joshua Tree National Park, to Missouri to serve the homeless, and to Jamaica to assist with programming at a mental health center. The options are endless and the lessons are life-changing.
Alternative break trips also take place during Thanksgiving break, weekends, winter break… and even right before move-in, a trip exclusively for incoming freshmen and new transfer students. You won’t want to miss your chance to be part of one of them. Check out the Alternative Break website for more information.
Center for Multicultural Student Services
Students come to JMU from all over the world. Sharing ideas with people who think differently than you do and who are from different places than you can help change the way you look at the world.
The Center for Multicultural Student Services provides programs and services that support an inclusive campus community in which members value diversity within themselves and others. CMSS sponsors events and guest speakers for students and faculty to make connections and embrace the diverse community we live in.
CMSS is also home to 33 multicultural student organizations. These groups are diverse in their membership as well as in their focuses, with interests ranging in the areas of diversity, religious affiliation, service, multicultural Greek life and academics. For more information, check out the CMSS website.
Fraternity and Sorority Life
JMU boasts a vibrant fraternity and sorority community with over 4,200 students involved. Recruitment, or “rush,” events for Greek organizations take place at the beginning of each semester.
Each fraternity or sorority is made up of members with broad academic and personal interests, but the relationships that are formed are life-changing. Greek involvement often opens doors to networking opportunities with thousands of alumni across the country.
For more information, check out the Fraternity and Sorority Life website.
