SPU Grads Going Places: Jeff Abbott ’14 is now working in Guatemala as a journalist, and Sefanit Ghezahegn ’13 is studying in a global health graduate program.
The Bachelor of Arts program in Global Development Studies was created by listening to students’ aspirations and by collecting the opinions of CEOs in nonprofits about the types of skills desired in graduates.
The program was approved in 2008 and, since the first solo graduate in 2009, has averaged 12 to 15 graduates per year. Because of limited capacity in required classes, entry is competitive and we are able to accept only 50 to 60 percent of applicants.
The major is interdisciplinary and combines the breadth of a liberal arts perspective on global issues with the precision of courses in Business and Economics (such as Social Enterprise and Management of Non-Profits). Students also complete 10 credits in theology, exploring the role of Christian faith in the modern world, and a course in global health taught by faculty in the Nursing program. The senior seminar has an intensive writing requirement.
Experience is also provided by a required internship (with joint mentoring by a workplace supervisor and a faculty member at SPU), and required participation in the SBGE Social Venture Competition.
The major has proven very successful, and students realize value added by being part of a committed group of peers who are expected to network with and support one another. The four-year graduation rate is 94 percent, and 65 percent of graduates in the major earn honors.
Internship sites have included World Relief, Agros International, PATH, Landesa, and World Vision. Some of our graduates have gone on to entry-level positions at the Gates Foundation, World Relief, local city community development departments, World Vision, and other NGOs. Other graduates choose a path of service abroad, while still others have entered graduate programs, including at SBGE. The placement of the Global Development Studies major in SBGE now opens up many opportunities to enhance or even expand the program.