Global Experience Requirement

Education Abroad
 

The University of Maryland offers a range of short-term study abroad options led by University staff and faculty. The courses require students to complete readings and assignments before, during and after the travel abroad. They are often affiliated with local universities, and include a range of activities to introduce you to the country. They are offered during winter, spring and summer breaks, and can be fit into almost any program of study.

Students may also opt to take a traditional semester or year abroad to fulfill the requirements for our program. These can be University of Maryland courses, or courses organized and taught through other universities but approved for University of Maryland credit.

Contact the Education Abroad office for more details.

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Alternative Breaks

Alternative Breaks are non-credit community service-learning trips during winter and spring breaks sponsored by the Adele H. Stamp Student Union-Center for Campus Life. Participants travel both locally and internationally to engage in active service, learn about social issues, and build upon community assets all while making lasting memories and great friends.

GC students can apply for Global Experience credit by gaining acceptance into select GC-designated Alternative Break programs and enrolling in a 3-credit course in the Spring semester called BSGC398A Global Service: Alternative Break. This on-line course satisfies General Education Diversity - Cultural Competence.

Your Global Experience requirement will be fulfilled upon successful completion of the both the Alternative Break program and BSGC398A.

Please note that if your service-learning program occurs during the summer (excluding Stamp Alternative Break programs), you will need to enroll in BSGC 398A during the summer.


Please do not select a domestic AB trip which is not on the pre-approved list. Select GC-designated Alternative Breaks and Service Programs for 2016-2017 include:

Alternative Breaks

• The Bahamas: Environmental Conservation and Eco-Tourism
• Guatemala: Sustainable Community Development
• Haiti: Rebuilding a People and Place
• Dominican Republic: Community Development and Education
• Nashville, Tennessee: Immigration and Refugees
• Washington, DC: Human Trafficking
• Ecuador: Community Development and Education
• South Dakota: Native American Rights

International Service Opportunities

• Engineers Without Borders
• Students Helping Honduras
• Select Hillel programs

If you are interested in participating in an international service experience or a domestic program that serves an international population and isn’t on the pre-approved list, you will need approval from Natalie  Vinski nvinski@umd.edu prior to enrolling in the program.

Tips for your Alternative Breaks application:

• Attend AB Meet and Greets - this is a great way to get to know the trip leaders and to express your interest in the program.
• It is not advisable to write on your AB application, "I'm applying for this program to fulfill my Global Experience Requirement." The trip leaders want to know that you are genuinely interested in the service topic.
• Apply for multiple programs - AB is very competitive and we strongly advise that you apply for (or "rank") as many pre-approved programs as possible.

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Globally-Oriented Internship

Students find and apply for a for-credit internship with an organization that has a global or international mission. This might be an agency in the federal government dealing with foreign policy, a non-profit that addresses a global issue or a business that has a global philanthropy unit. The University Career Center provides services to assist students in finding internships, but each student is responsible for securing their own placement. We also post many internship opportunities on the Global Communities blog.

Students must register for a 3-credit internship course to complement their professional experience. Internship courses administered through academic majors or other campus departments are accepted. Options include the BSOS Internship for Credit courses, which are open to all majors.   

Alternatively, students may register for BSGC386 - Experiential Learning in Global Communities: Global Internship  during Fall, Spring, or Summer Term. BSGC386 is approved for General Education, Scholarship-in-Practice.

(NOTE: BSGC386 is not offered for Fall 2016)

Recent GC internship sites have included:

• United Nations Association - National Capital Area, Washington DC
• Brazil Industries Coalition, Washington DC
• HarvestPlus - International, Washington, DC
• Food Policy Research Institute, Washington DC
• MURI Interaction Project, UMD Dept of Psychology
• Council on Foreign Relations, Washington DC
• American Psychological Association - Global Division, Washington DC
• Excell Sports, Inc. - International Sports Marketing
• DC Greens, Farm to School Project - Washington, DC
• Robinzonda English Immersion Summer Program- Moscow, Russia
• American Jewish Coalition, Atlanta, GA

If you would like to do an internship, you will need approval from Natalie Vinski nvinski@umd.edu prior to enrolling in the class.

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 Experiential Courses

Other departments on campus periodically offer experiential courses that are globally-oriented. We can approve these for global experience credit on a case-by-case basis. We have pre-approved one anthropology course: ANTH492: Experiential Learning: Ethnology of Immigrant Life (4 credits), taught by Professor Judith Friedenberg. This course involves four hours of service with local organizations that work with immigrants in our neighborhood community. The course is offered periodically, typically in spring semester.