GEI Study Abroad: Global Public Policy
Hosted by
- Kenya
- Nairobi
- Ghana
- Accra
- Rwanda
- Kigali
- South Africa
- Cape Town
- Thailand
- Bangkok
- Vietnam
- Ho Chi Minh City
Frequently asked questions
You can apply to GEI Study Abroad: Global Public Policy by clicking the "Apply Now" button.
GEI Study Abroad: Global Public Policy is a multi-country program, spanning 6 countries, including Kenya, Ghana, and Rwanda.
About Program
Policy is easiest to understand where it is made and carried out, and that is where GEI's Global Public Policy programs take place. In Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Thailand, and Vietnam, you learn alongside officials, practitioners, advocates, and community partners, and see how development works on the ground.
Every program is built around learning by doing: site visits, community-engaged projects, and teamwork with local partners and student peers, with guided reflection on what you see and do. You join the Global Practicum for four weeks, or for eight weeks in Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, and South Africa, and carry the governance side of a GEI development initiative.
Every program is hosted by GEI's full-time in-country team, made up of nationals of the country you are in. There are no prerequisites, and U.S. academic credit comes through Hamline University, GEI's school of record.
Program Highlights
- Field-based learning: See how policy is made and carried out, alongside officials, practitioners, and advocates
- Hands-on experience: Map the authorities, budgets, and standards a project depends on, and make the case for it to the people who can act on it
- Interdisciplinary teamwork: Collaborate in one team with students from other tracks and local student peers
- Cross-cultural insight: Understand how governance, rights, and media shape development, guided by GEI's in-country team
- Leadership development: Build the skills of a global change leader through weekly reflection on ethics, cross-cultural engagement, and systems thinking
Expanding Program Portfolio
Video and Photos
Impact 🌎
Sustainability
Popular Programs
Rwanda governs by plan, with performance contracts for every district and home-grown solutions such as monthly community work days. From Kigali, you join the Global Practicum for four or eight weeks, in one team with Rwandan student peers. You carry the governance side of the project: the authorities, budgets, and standards it depends on.
Ghana is a democracy the region looks to, with peaceful transfers of power since 1992 and a free press. From Accra, you join the Global Practicum for four or eight weeks, in one team with Ghanaian student peers. Your cohort sees its project through to completion, and you make the case for it in policy terms.
In South Africa, a celebrated constitution meets hard reality, tested daily by Parliament, the Constitutional Court, and a free press. From Cape Town, you join the Global Practicum for four or eight weeks, in one team with South African student peers. You carry the governance side of a GEI development initiative.
Bangkok is the region's meeting point, home to the United Nations' Asia-Pacific headquarters, and Thailand has written a sufficiency economy into its national plan. You join the Global Practicum for four weeks, in one team with Thai student peers. Your cohort sees its project through to completion.
In Vietnam, the state leads and the results are visible, from poverty reduction to the response to rising seas in the Mekong Delta. From Ho Chi Minh City, you join the Global Practicum for four weeks, in one team with Vietnamese student peers. You carry the governance side of the project, from public programs to the case for the work.
Kenya's 2010 constitution moved power to 47 counties, and Nairobi hosts the United Nations' African headquarters. You join the Global Practicum for four or eight weeks, in one team with Kenyan student peers. You carry the governance side of the project: the authorities, budgets, and standards it depends on.
