For students eager to add international experiences to their careers at UC Davis, Global Affairs and the new Global Learning Hub are pleased to announce an exciting expansion of the lineup of faculty-led study abroad and internship programs for 2019-20. This includes new programs in Tanzania, Lebanon, Antarctica and a variety of locations in Latin America, Asia and Europe.

The new faculty-led programs, which occur in the summer, academic year, and between sessions, boast all of the advantages of this popular study abroad model:  the opportunity to work with world-class faculty in small group settings; to go boldly outside of the classroom to gain real-life experiences; to explore new places and meet new people—with courses that fulfill major, minor, and GE requirements, and with financial aid available for qualifying students and numerous scholarship opportunities that are more accessible than most students realize.

Imagine the lifelong memories you will collect as you venture out into the Serengeti in Tanzania to live with the Maasai and study local culture, wildlife and activism; as you discuss environmental challenges in Lebanon under 1,000-year-old cedar trees and in the wondrous Jeita Cave; and as you take in the astonishing vista around you while landing in a zodiac boat on the shores of Antarctica to study its ecology and wildlife.

These examples are just the tip of the iceberg. Faculty are leading new programs on Human Rights in Chile and Peru, Water Management in Mexico City, Design in Japan, Personality Psychology in Germany and Cell Biology and Behavior in the Netherlands. And they are partnering with overseas faculty to offer new opportunities to take UC Davis courses taught by local colleagues: BIS 2C, Biodiversity and the Tree of Life, at the University of Edinburgh; PSC 135, Cognitive Neuroscience, at the University of Bologna; and STA 103, Statistics for Business and Economics, in Krakow, Poland.

Many of the UC Davis faculty who lead these programs are natives of the host country and/or have extensive research connections there. Dr. Danielle Heard Mollel, who teaches African American literature and culture, has relatives in the Maasai community of Tanzania. Dr. Majdi Abou Najm of the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources is leading the program in Lebanon, his homeland, where he has initiated many environmental projects.

Internships abroad are valuable opportunities to investigate career tracks and to enhance your employment prospects by gaining critical international work experience and advancing your intercultural skills, all the while exploring the sights, culture and history of engaging locations. New internship opportunities include a Quarter Abroad program on Internship Writing in Dublin, and summer programs on Animal Science in Thailand, Engineering in Argentina, Psychology in London and Global Policy in Washington, D.C.

This is a grand expansion of Global Affairs’ mission to inspire global curiosity, understanding and engagement. It includes many unique opportunities for students to advance their educational and professional goals, and to lay the groundwork for lives spent making the world a better place. As Dr. Amy Clarke, the University Writing instructor who will be leading the new Writing in the Professions: Internships program in Dublin in 2020, put it, “This whole endeavor is bursting at the seams with the spirit of exploration.”

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About the Global Learning Hub at UC Davis

Through the Global Learning Hub, each and every UC Davis student can find global learning opportunities available on campus, in the region, and across all seven continents. The hub’s network of local and global academic, experiential, and leadership programs helps develop capacity for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students to engage with global issues and make a difference in the world as the next generation of global problem solvers.

As a part of Global Affairs, the Global Learning Hub aims to inspire global curiosity, understanding, and engagement.