Impact Abroad

Impact Abroad introduces Stanford students to a global perspective on public service. The program is designed to provide students who have not traveled extensively or participated in an international service-learning program the opportunity to engage in a meaningful and rewarding experience. Through the program's courses and trips, undergraduates focus on specific issues—such as health care or microfinance—in developing nations. Trips last eight weeks and are offered in the summer. During spring quarter, selected participants enroll in a one-unit course offered by their trip leader(s) and faculty sponsor.

Program Details for Summer 2016

The Impact Abroad program sponsors 8 week service and learning experiences abroad. The program includes a student-initiated 1-unit course during spring quarter; the in-country summer experience; and post-trip debriefing activities. Student leaders collaborate with a faculty member to develop the course and facilitate the summer group experience in the field. Each trip includes 5–8 undergraduate participants and an upperclassmen leader. Trips are developed with Child Family Health International (CFHI), Volunteers in Asia (VIA), and Social Entrepreneur Corps, our selected partner organizations that provide all in-country logistical support including an on-site director and local support staff.

2016 Summer trip information: Just one Impact Abroad trip will be offered this summer in Ghana, focused on child health & social determinants and sponsored by Child Family Health International. Program information can be found here: Ghana 2016.

Additional opportunities similar to past Impact Abroad trips are available through Volunteers in Asia (VIA) and Social Entrepreneur Corps. Haas Center International Service Grants may be available to support the costs associated with these programs.

Impact Abroad is a Cardinal Quarter opportunity, and funding for this year's program has been generously provided by Haas Center donors.

Undergraduate Participant Application

Students are selected winter quarter, and all applicants are notified as soon as participant selections are finalized.

All applications are due Friday, February 12, 2016, by noon at the Haas Center. Get the participant application.

History

In 2008, the Haas Center launched the Impact Abroad program to address a growing interest among Stanford undergraduates in participating in public service internationally. Initially made possible by The Stanford Fund, Impact Abroad provides students access to service learning opportunities outside the United States. The program is designed for students without prior travel experience, including those who need financial assistance to pay for the trip.

In its first eight years, the program has sent over 200 students to Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Cambodia, China, Dominican Republic, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua & Vietnam, . Participants enroll in a spring quarter course that prepare them for the trip with directed readings, group discussions, and guest speakers. Student co-leaders with prior experience facilitate each group, and some trips have included a staff advisor from the Haas Center. Using the successful Alternative Spring Break program as a model, the Haas Center collaborates with in-country sponsoring organizations like the Foundation for Sustainable Development to create a program of site visits, seminars, family homestays, and group service projects with local organizations. The local host organizations connect the groups with projects of an appropriate scale for a three- to eight-week trip.

Contact Information

For more information, please contact Jon McConnell.