Global Internship Course

The Global Internship Course (GIC) provides a unique and innovative opportunity for students to engage in an internship abroad for academic credit. Through its academic content, the course frames and supports learning that occurs at the internship placement and students' personal and professional development.

The GIC supports CEA CAPA's philosophy and practice of enabling students to learn about the social and cultural context of their internship through comparative global analysis on both micro- and macro- levels. In-class active learning gives students the opportunity to discuss and analyze theories and models of work, organizational behavior, and management in a cross-cultural context. Out-of-class field studies engage experiential and place-based pedagogies that enhance in-class discussions. Students also analyze the importance of, and approaches to, justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) from national and international perspectives.

A variety of teaching and learning activities is employed, for example: lectures, workshops, discussions, informal and formal presentations, self-guided and guided research, and mock interviews. Assessment mechanisms are all designed to support learning, using the internship and living abroad experience as a vehicle. Above all, in-class sessions give students the opportunity to listen to individual experiences, compare and contrast with others, and consider experiences in terms of their personal and professional development. At the beginning, the focus is on self-reflection; at the end, students are challenged to focus on self-projection. At its core, the GIC provides an opportunity for students to unpack, synthesize, and articulate the value and outcomes of their internship experience.

As a credit-bearing, college-level academic course, the GIC requires students to treat class sessions and requirements with the same dedication and professionalism that they display at their internship placements. Students undertake an intensive orientation session to help them prepare for and integrate into their placements and course resources and readings aid students' personal and professional development. Central to the pedagogy of the GIC is self-reflection and collaboration, leveraging the diverse socio-cultural and academic backgrounds students bring to the course and emphasizing the multi- and inter-disciplinary nature of the GIC. Students with prior knowledge of certain topics covered in class are encouraged to share their knowledge in a mentoring capacity with their peers and to build upon their knowledge by considering such topics from global and cross-cultural perspectives. Through the detailed and interactive Canvas course elements, students are provided with a large range of supplementary readings and resources that they can use to learn in a self-directed fashion based on their academic and professional interests and experiences.