Global Department
Globalization requires a new emphasis on global citizenship education. This means helping students understand and appreciate human rights and shared global challenges, thus becoming engaged citizens. To do this well, a purposeful and high-quality global citizenship curriculum is essential.Fernando M. ReimersEmpowering Students to Improve the World
The Global curriculum is designed by incorporating the Global Competence Matrix adapted from the Asia Society and World Savvy’s Matrix of Global Competence. Additionally, our global curriculum is tied to the 17 goals of the United Nations Sustainable Development (UNSD) and the Global Education First Initiative (GEFI). In the Global Program, students will learn about globalization. Students will learn about global challenges and issues and be able to identify and elaborate on those issues. Students will understand, embrace, and learn to value different perspectives and obtain the capacity to collaborate effectively with people from different parts of the world. At the end of the program, students will have developed the ability to take action toward shared global challenges and be part of change! The final product of this program is a Capstone project in which students identify one global issue, research it in both local and international contexts, suggest a solution, and implement it locally.
This program is meant to enhance students’ 21st-century education by helping them become lifelong learners. The Global Program aims to inspire students to do, to be, and live together productively.
Yearlong Courses
An Introduction to Global Competencies
- Prerequisite: None
[Non-Credit]
Open to: Required for Freshmen
In this one-semester seminar course, meeting once per cycle, freshmen students have the opportunity to explore the four domains of global competence: Investigating the World, Recognizing and Valuing Diverse Perspectives, Communicating Ideas Across Cultures, and Taking Action on Global Issues.
Students engage with these concepts through hands-on projects, interactive activities, guest speaker sessions, and other experiential learning opportunities. As they are introduced to both familiar and new ideas within a global context, students are intentionally guided to make meaningful connections between their own identities, lived experiences, and the increasingly interconnected world around them.
Global Concentration: Cohort Year
- Prerequisite: This class can be taken in addition to a full course load with Academic Dean approval.
[One Half-Credit]
Open to: Sophomores & Juniors
In the first year of the two-year concentration, students focus on the first two domains of global competence—Investigating the World and Recognizing and Valuing Diverse Perspectives—adapted from the framework developed by Asia Society.
The course is designed using an inquiry-based learning approach to intentionally develop students’ inquiry skills. Assessment emphasizes the growth of critical thinking, analytical reasoning, research, communication, and presentation skills, rather than traditional quizzes or tests. Students also strengthen their collaboration skills through peer-based projects and structured class discussions. In addition, intentionally designed field trips and guest speaker sessions are embedded throughout the year to deepen students’ real-world understanding and connect classroom learning to lived experiences and professional perspectives.
Global Concentration: Capstone Year
- Prerequisite: Juniors & Seniors who have completed Global Concentration Cohort. This class can be taken in addition to a full course load with Academic Dean approval.
[One Half-Credit]
Open to: Juniors & Seniors
In the second year of the two-year concentration, students focus on the final two domains of global competence—Communicating Ideas Across Cultures and Taking Action on Global Issues—adapted from the framework developed by Asia Society.
Teaching, learning, and assessment approaches remain consistent with those of the first year and continue to emphasize inquiry-based learning and authentic assessment. Throughout the year, students further develop their critical thinking, analytical, research, communication, presentation, and collaboration skills.
A defining feature of the second year is the development of students’ Capstone Projects, which spans the entire second semester. In this project, each student identifies a global issue, conducts guided research, interviews professionals in the field, builds and publishes a project website, and delivers a TED-style presentation to the school community by the end of the year. Intentionally designed experiential learning opportunities, including guest speakers and, when feasible, a curricular field trip, are offered in alternating years and/or dependent on program budget to further support student learning.
Global Concentration: Internship
- Prerequisite: Seniors who have completed the two-year Global Concentration. This class can be taken in addition to a full course load with Academic Dean approval.
[One-half Credit]
Open to: Seniors
The Year 4 GCE Internship is a capstone experiential learning opportunity designed for senior global concentration students who are ready to extend their Capstone research into real-world contexts. This is an opportunity to dive deeper into the fourth domain of global competence: taking action. Each student partners with a sponsor teacher from the Global Department and develops an individualized internship plan connected directly to their Capstone topic.
Students conduct authentic field-based inquiry by engaging with professionals, scholars, organizations, and frontline practitioners whose work aligns with their area of study. Internship experiences may include:
- Virtual or in-person interviews
- Off-campus site visits and shadowing hours
- Participation in meetings, workshops, or community programs
- Research conversations with experts in the field
- Design and implementation of locally based initiatives or projects aimed at addressing the researched global issue
- Optional participation in relevant field trips with the Global Department and spring break curricular trip.
Through these experiences, students deepen their understanding of complex global issues, apply GCE competencies beyond the classroom, and gain firsthand experience with the challenges and possibilities of global problem-solving.
The course culminates in a learning journal, reflective analysis, and a research project that demonstrate how the internship experience advanced students’ inquiry skills, deepened their understanding of global issues, and strengthened their sense of global responsibility.