International Development and Social Change

Undergraduate Program

In the International Development and Social Change program, students learn from people who are actively engaged in vital world issues, for example, globalization, nationalism, displacement of indigenous people in India, food scarcity in Ethiopia, black social movements in Colombia, and social justice and education in South Africa. The program begins by building a foundation to help students to understand and think critically about the social, political, economic and cultural dynamics shaping the world. Courses provide important insights on how the developed and developing worlds are linked historically and at present. Clark University is one of the few universities in the nation to offer a liberal-arts major in international development.

Beyond the classroom—in workshops, panels, and informal gatherings—international development and social change majors learn from faculty, as well as from undergraduate and graduate students, with field experience from around the world. Students have the opportunity to expand this knowledge with hands-on experience through internships and field research.

As a major in this program, you will be part of a diverse student body and discover a program that offers intellectual excitement, insightful perspectives and stimulating ideas. International development students explore strategic political action by developing an awareness of the complexities and contradictions of global power relations. You will learn the history of social change around the world from professors who have been involved in social change in Asia, South America and Africa. Students in this major become thinkers and doers who are prepared to tackle the challenges of development in the 21st century.

International Development and Social Change Internships

Internships provide an opportunity to gain insight and experience in development through work in government or nonprofit agencies. Recently, students have had overseas internships with the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, the American Jewish World Service in El Salvador, the London Internship Program, and the World Health Organization in Geneva. Other interns have worked in the United States on national and international development issues with the Environmental Defense Fund, Grassroots International, Oxfam America, Habitat for Humanity, MassPIRG, Save the Children, Aid to Artisans, and Lutheran Community Services Refugee Program.

All International Development majors must undertake an internship for academic credit. Internships for credit must be supervised or sponsored by core ID faculty or affiliate IDCE faculty with the approval of your faculty adviser. You should register for ID299 the semester during the internship to receive credit. If your internship is during the summer, you should register through COPACE.

For more information, visit www.clarku.edu/departments/idce/id/ba.

Study Abroad

Many international development students have learned about development issues first-hand through Study Abroad programs, such as those in Namibia and the Dominican Republic. Students have also studied abroad on related programs at the University of East Anglia in England, with the School for Field Studies in Mexico and Costa Rica, and with the School for International Training in Nepal, Mali and Morocco. Please contact the Study Abroad office at Clark for information on study-abroad options. You should discuss your study-abroad plans in advance with your major adviser to maximize your learning experience. For more information, visit www.clarku.edu/offices/studyabroad/.

About International Development and Social Change

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