Community-engaged learning is a signature component of a Bates education, providing opportunities for students to deepen their knowledge of course content and the wider world while collaborating with off-campus partners to address community-identified goals and needs and advance positive social change. In community-engaged learning courses and research, students increase self-awareness and develop a range of skills and capacities, including communication, collaborative problem solving, and cross-cultural understanding. More than fifty Bates courses each year include some form of mutually beneficial collaboration among students, faculty, and community partners.

The mission of the Harward Center for Community Partnerships is to advance the College's commitment to cultivating informed civic action through reciprocal and sustained partnerships that connect the College and the community. Established in 2002, the Harward Center builds on a legacy of innovative, rigorous community-engaged learning at Bates. It serves as a hub for faculty, staff, and students interested in community-engaged learning or research projects, and for community organizations, schools, and government agencies that seek to engage the College. It sponsors community projects in areas as diverse as basic social services; education; immigrant integration; municipal government; environmental education and advocacy; health and mental health services; public art, music, dance, and other cultural projects; and legal advocacy. The center also coordinates Bates' volunteer, democratic engagement, and community work study opportunities in the Lewiston Auburn community.

Specific student programs of the Harward Center include the Community Outreach Fellows Program, the Bonner Leader Program, the Bates Civic Action Team, the International Student Experiential Education Fellowship, and the Community-Engaged Research Fellows Program. The center also oversees a number of grant programs for students, faculty, staff, and community partners, during both the academic year and the summer. More information about those opportunities can be found at the Harward Center's website.