Taught by Dr. Diego Arispe-Bazán, Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences Department of Anthropology and the Buffett Institute for Global Affairs 

This foundations course presents a critical, interdisciplinary overview of the history, structure and operation of development organizations. Particular attention is paid to the ethical and sociological orientation of development organizations of varying sizes and missions, to inform students’ experiences working remotely for small nonprofits around the world. Simulations, role playing, readings, lectures and in-person discussion sessions will create an experiential learning experience focused on real-world decision-making processes. Further, guest lecturers will occasionally visit the foundations course to provide students with alternative perspectives, opinions and personal experiences to reinforce the teachings of the instructor and the importance of global affairs in professional settings. Guest lecturers will often vary from one quarter to another, contingent on lecturers’ availability, expertise in relevant current events featured in case studies and areas of specialization. The dynamic selection of guest lecturers ensures that the content remains fresh and relevant, enhancing students' understanding of the subject matter.  View sample syllabus >>

Taught by Dr. Andre Nickow, Global Poverty Research Lab 

This course provides students with a systematic and intuitive grasp of evaluation as applied to economic and social development programs. Students will be provided with the tools to become informed and critical consumers of evaluations, and those with the inclination to do so will receive stepping stones to develop skills for producing evaluations. They will engage in debates on the strengths and weaknesses of alternative approaches to evaluation and consider how different combinations of methods may be best suited to particular research questions or practical goals. View sample syllabus >>

Taught by Dr. Diego Arispe-Bazán, Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences Department of Anthropology and the Buffett Institute for Global Affairs 

The GESI program starts on Northwestern’s campus where students take part in several days of intensive pre-departure coursework and orientation focused on building an understanding of their role in the process of international immersion and community development. In addition to lectures, team-building and small group activities, students will attend country-specific sessions, learn about development topics from practitioners and attend language classes to prepare them for time abroad. The pre-departure seminar also includes a focus on discussing social identities, health and safety, and sharing resources and practical information for the field. GESI students will also work closely with a team of peer facilitators, who will provide academic and personal support as well as assist in teaching activities.  

This course combines intensive classroom and structured experiential learning as well as peer-to-peer education to examine international development work. The course sets contemporary development practice in the context of fundamental debates over the nature and goals of nonprofits and other such efforts, the causes of global poverty, and the history of development, with particular attention to the relationships among power, participation and social change. Students will be introduced to the political, social, economic, cultural and geographic characteristics of their different locations, with consideration to how these factors influence community-based work. Overall, the course seeks to give students the intellectual, emotional and practical readiness as well as framework to pursue and reflect critically on their field experience and in-country work. 

While abroad, you will work in teams with local organizations, advancing their efforts towards sustainable change. Topics vary by program location and include a focus on issues like human rights, sustainable agriculture, gender rights, health services and youth/education. Your schedule will resemble a work schedule common in your location (roughly 30 hours/week). All students live in homestays and will submit weekly assignments (reflections, field essays and final papers) to Northwestern program faculty. Host organization supervisors will also evaluate students on their project work and community engagement during the internship experience.

At the end of GESI, all students reconvene in the classroom at Northwestern for three days of re-entry coursework and programming as a cohort.  Everyone discusses lessons learned, challenges, and successes of their internship and in-country experience. We believe that reflective practice is an integral component of study abroad programs. The GESI Final Reflection Summit is designed to help students contextualize their international community development experiences within the larger issues of international development theory and practice and look ahead to next steps beyond the program. 

Students who will be sophomores or juniors in Fall 2024, and enrolled in an Evanston-based undergraduate program at Northwestern will be eligible to apply. 

We expect the theme of international development, including GESI as the capstone experience, to be in place for the 2024–25 and 2025–26 academic years.

We encourage all students to meet with their academic advisors to understand how these courses fit within their degree plan. 

INTL ST 383-1 has been approved to count towards the following degree requirements: Foundational Discipline Social and Behavioral Science and Global Perspectives on Power, Justice and Equity.   

INTL ST 383-2 is under review for approval to count toward the same requirements. Students will receive an update when this determination has been made. 

In addition, the courses can satisfy requirements in the thematic cluster area for International Studies majors and minors. 

GESI is a non-repeatable course.  

However, for this inaugural cycle, we will consider applications from students who will have completed GESI by Fall 2024. In these cases, we will work with students to develop alternative capstone experiences to fulfill the program requirement. For example, avenues for alternative capstone experiences may include independent research or a research assistant fellowship, made possible through existing Buffett undergraduate opportunities.  

Students will have an opportunity to address this in their application and explain what they hope to gain out of the program. 

The Buffett Institute will fund the full cost of attendance for all Elliott Scholars in the GESI Program. This includes the program fee (tuition, room and board) and other program costs (airfare and other travel-related expenses) as detailed in the ⁠program specific cost sheets by location.

Scholars will need to have successfully completed the other components of the program, INTL ST 383-1 and 383-2, to qualify.

No. The GESI experience, or an alternative capstone for GESI alumni, is a required element of the scholars program. If you have extenuating circumstances for why you cannot travel outside of the U.S., please email Associate Director for Strategic Initiatives Samantha Nissen to discuss an exception to this policy. Requests related to conflicts with internships, other courses or personal travel will not be considered. 

Please note, students admitted to the 2024–25 cycle of scholars program who will participate in GESI must complete this requirement in Summer 2025. Students cannot postpone their participation to a later summer. 

No. Students in this case would have the opportunity to re-apply to the Elliott Scholars Program in the following year.  

Of course, students in this case may independently apply to GESI through the Global Learning Office (GLO) but will be ineligible for the funded GESI experience through the Elliott Scholars Program. However, financial aid applies to the GESI program and students may be eligible for GLO scholarships. 

Students will apply for their preferred GESI location and list alternative location preferences via the study abroad application. GESI staff will review applications with attention to your: 

• Location preference. Students will apply to a specific GESI country location and indicate a second-choice option in the event spots become unavailable in their preferred location. 
• Demonstrated language ability for Spanish-speaking locations, which will be evaluated in your interview.
• Interests and how they align with available internship opportunities and the needs and priorities of the community organizations where students work. 

The application will be due by February 1, 2025, and managed by the Global Learning Office. Accepted students to the scholars program will receive instructions on how to apply to GESI.