Wilfrid Laurier University
AC-5: Immersive Experience

The Global Studies Experience (GSE) is the experiential learning heart of Global Studies, but it is also open to all Laurier students. The GSE is also a core component of the Social Entrepreneurship Option. Alongside study abroad and field courses, it is one of the key opportunities to internationalize your degree at Laurier. The GSE offers you the opportunity to connect academic inquiry with experiential activity by participating in volunteer placements, social enterprises or intercultural learning experiences around the globe. Living and working in different cultural contexts alongside community partners sets the stage for learning about yourself in relation to others, and broadens your awareness of the challenges of global justice and social equity. The GSE offers an experience you are not likely to forget. In recent years, students have participated in community development projects, human rights research, wildlife conservation, marine restoration, and peace promotion in all corners of the globe, including places as diverse as South Africa, Pakistan, France, Palestine, Peru and Thailand. The Masters in International Public Policy also offers students an optional internship format which engages students to use classroom knowledge to help shape and form more sustainable practices at the international government level. The internship term is designed to give students valuable work experience with professional organizations working in the field of global governance. MAGG students have the option of completing their internship in either the third or fourth semesters of the program. Although the programs do not guarantee paid internship positions, they have, in the past, offered financial support to students in cases in which the costs associated with the internship have been considered exceptional. Since 2007, students have interned at a variety of governmental and non-governmental organizations, some of which include: Amnesty International (Ottawa, Canada; Johannesburg, South Africa) Arctic Centre, University of Lapland (Rovaniemi, Finland) The Berkeley Food Institute (Berkeley, USA) Bonn International Centre for Conversion (Bonn, Germany) The Canada Eurasia Russia Business Council (Toronto, Canada) The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (Ottawa, Canada) The Canadian Embassy in Serbia (Belgrade, Serbia) The Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (Ottawa, Canada) The Carter Center (Atlanta, USA) The Centre for Science and Environment (New Delhi, India) The Centre for Strategic and International Studies (Jakarta, Indonesia) The Centre for Trade Policy and Law (Ottawa, Canada) The Child Welfare League of Canada (Ottawa, Canada) Chulalongkorn University (Bangkok, Thailand) The City of Porto Alegre (Porto Alegre, Brazil) CIVICUS: The World Alliance for Citizen Participation (Johannesburg, South Africa) Doha Institute for Graduate Studies (Doha, Qatar) Environment and Climate Change Canada (Ottawa, Canada) FLACSO (Buenos Aires, Argentina) The Frankfurt Peace Research Institute (Frankfurt, Germany) The G8/G20 Research Group, University of Toronto (Toronto, Canada) Global Affairs Canada (Ottawa, Canada) The Gordon Foundation (Toronto, Canada) Health Canada (Ottawa, Canada) IFEX: The Global Network for Free Expression (Toronto, Canada) The Institute on Governance (Ottawa, Canada) The International Food Policy Research Institute (Washington, USA) International Institute for Environment and Development (London, United Kingdom) The International Institute for Sustainable Development (Winnipeg, Canada) The International Organization for Migration (Pretoria, South Africa) ISEAL Alliance (London, United Kingdom) Mines Action Canada (Ottawa, Canada) The National Security Archives (Washington, DC, USA) Natural Resources Canada (International Affairs Division) (Ottawa, Canada) Nexos Communitarious (Cuncani, Peru) The Nobel Women’s Initiative (Ottawa, Canada) The Open Technology Institute (Washington, DC, USA) The Ontario Legislature Internship Program (Toronto, Canada) Project Ploughshares (Waterloo, Canada) Search for Common Ground (Bujumbura, Burundi; Conakry, Guinea) Scotia Bank (Toronto, Canada) Stockholm Environment Institute (Stockholm, Sweden) The Suzuki Foundation (Winnipeg, Canada) United Nations Development Programme (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Dhaka, Bangladesh; Kathmandu, Nepal; Kiev, Ukraine; Jakarta, Indonesia; Panama City, Panama; Hanoi, Vietnam) United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (Yangon, Myanmar; Bangkok, Thailand) United Nations World Food Programme (Cambodia) United Nations Secretariat (Strategic Communications Division, Dept of Public Information) (New York, USA)

https://www.balsillieschool.ca/degree-programs/master-of-international-public-policy/