COLLEGE PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Located in the Parish of St. Thomas, this program focuses on international service-learning, diversity, pro-poor development, and global citizenship. Students take two integrated, interdisciplinary courses that combine academic readings and discussions with experiential learning and community-based research. Students meet as a group four afternoons a week and spend an average of three days a week in the field. They all explore the history, culture, socio-economic development, and formal and non-formal (community-based) education in Jamaica, while also learning what it means to be a global citizen in their chosen field. Field projects vary depending on the needs of community-based partner organizations as well as the interests and skills of the students. Students also have the opportunity for an in-depth study that focuses on issues that arise from their integrated learning experience.

The program is open to both undergraduate and graduate students. Participants come from a variety of fields including the social and behavioral sciences, education, business, organizational development, counseling, public health, and the sciences. They work with women’s cooperatives; students, counselors, and teachers in pre-primary, primary, and secondary schools; students, teachers, and administrators in a small school for pregnant teens; and agricultural extension agents. Past students have explored themes such as masculinity and femininity in cross-cultural context, resilience in teen mothers, creative writing and personal development, alternative energy, school gardens and food security, conflict and violence, HIV/AIDS education, fair trade marketing, classroom management, and art education – as well as their own identity and contributions toward creating a more equitable world.  Below is one of our customary college itinerary.