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CALS Global Fellows Program

The CALS Global Fellows Program will be paused for the Summer 2024.  

 

The CALS Global Fellows Program supports CALS undergraduate students from any major in pursuit of challenging, professionally focused summer internships and research placements that enhance and complement their career goals and academic progress, while enriching their undergraduate experience with diverse cultural and international immersion. Through key partnerships, the Global Fellows Program provides a platform for students to make positive and definable contributions to global organizations and communities. 

Acceptance to the program is competitive and a limited number of students are selected each year.

The program includes three parts:

  • 3 in-person pre-engagement workshops (March/April)
  • a continuous 7–8-week internship or research placement in an international setting,
  • and a 1-credit post-engagement course in the first 7weeks of the Fall semester (ALS/GDEV 3105). 

GFP Info Session:

Please attend the CALS Engaged and Experiential Learning Symposium on Thursday, Oct 19th, 2023 from 4:00-5:30 in Mann B75. 

Questions? Email: calsglobal [at] cornell.edu

Eligibility and Applications

CALS Global Fellows is open to undergraduate students from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) who have completed 2 academic years, with a minimum GPA of 2.75 and maintain good academic standing. Some programs may have their own minimum GPA requirement (check the application listing). This program is not open to current freshman or seniors; unless seniors are returning beyond their summer experience for the fall semester.

Funding

Funding for the CALS Global Fellows Program is limited.  If accepted into the program, the cost of the program fee, housing, food allowance and a cost of living stipend will be provided.  Amounts vary by location.  Applicants should expect to cover the cost of their international airfare to the destination.  International Flight assistance is available through the Global Fellows grant fund. Grant awards will range from partially funded to full funding of your airfare. There are many factors that will determine how much is awarded. A separate application for grant funding will be required.  

For details on the estimated cost of this program and more information on possible funding opportunities, visit the cost tab.

Grant funding that is awarded is to offset major internship-related expenses, including program fees, housing and food. Award amounts vary and are determined by several factors including, but not limited to, number of weeks of internship, location, payments paid directly to the partner by CALS, partner support and financial need. The purpose of the grant funding is to cover major expenses. It is not intended as monetary gain for Fellows. Global Fellows should budget wisely and be willing to financially contribute to their experience. Students accepted to the program will receive confirmation of the amount of the stipend in their letter of offer. Students should be prepared to pay some out-of-pocket expenses that the stipend will not cover, and/or expenses required in advance such as housing deposits. You can find budgetary information for each program on the cost tab of the program listing in Experience Cornell. 

Program Placements

All Global Fellows Program placements are in organizations and institutions with clearly defined professional fields of practice which have been curated by CALS and the partners. For each placement, we provide an overview of the type of projects and duties that interns may support and enact. While some internships have predefined expectations and roles, several are with partners who have multiple ongoing and fluid projects that require interns who are flexible and proactive within a particular context (e.g. Malawi, Botswana and India). A few of our internship partners (e.g. Bangkok, Sydney, and Argentina) will support Fellows throughout the spring semester to finalize their placement in an organization, company or research lab with a focus that matches their interests. It is key then, that students clearly articulate their personal and professional objectives throughout the application process, and if selected as a Fellow, contribute meaningfully to the matching phase.

Note that the program offers several opportunities that may include more than one partner within the same country and/or with the same global partner. Below, explore a summary of opportunities organized by region and country.

For a list of all placement opportunities, more detailed information, and to APPLY, visit Global Fellows Program on Experience Cornell.

Asia

Sathguru Management Consultants Private Limited: Located in Hyderabad and with a deeply rooted relationship to Cornell University, Sathguru Management Consultants offer a diverse portfolio of services, including strategic & financial advice, sector growth assessment, capital market advice, and brand affiliation management through the lens of development and innovative life sciences & technology.

Suggested majors and/or professional interests: AEM, IARD, Information Science, Biological Engineering, Biology, Agricultural Science focusing on content development, user interface/user experience, GIS, machine learning, agriculture development, computational biology, molecular biology

Placements: 2

Sehgal Foundation: Every person deserves to lead a more secure, prosperous, and dignified life. With that vision in mind, the Sehgal Foundation mission is to strengthen community-led development initiatives to achieve positive social, economic, and environmental change across rural India. With support from donors and partners, Sehgal Foundation designs and promotes rural development interventions that create opportunities, build resilience, and provide solutions to some of the most pressing challenges in India’s poorest communities.

Suggested majors and/or professional interests (varies accordingly to internship): IARD, Development Sociology, Communications, Information Science, Agricultural Science, Applied Economics and Management, with interests in community, digital and mass media, journalism, rural development, adaptive technology, and computer programming.

Placements: 2-4

Tata Cornell Institute (TCI) for Agriculture and Nutrition: The Tata Cornell Institute (TCI) is a long-term research initiative focusing on the design and evaluation of innovative interventions linking agriculture, food systems, human nutrition, and poverty in India. TCI is part of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and are hosted by the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management.

Suggested majors and/or professional interests: IARD, Agricultural Science, Global Health, Development Sociology focusing on economics, agriculture, international relations, development studies, health, nutrition, human ecology, gender studies

Placements: 2

CALS in partnership with the National University of Singapore (NUS) will support selected Fellows in the process for selecting a placement through the Undergraduate Research Attachment in Science Program (URAPS). Prospective applicants identify and contact NUS Faculty of Science professors they would like to work alongside. Placements will vary depending on interest and the faculty member the student chooses to work with. Students have the opportunity to work in research, in a lab setting, or conduct data analysis. This is a proactive placement and students must work with the NUS faculty directly to secure a placement. 

Students may contact faculty prior CALS' decision to move your application forward in the review process for the Global Fellows Program. Past participants who have been accepted, found it easier to secure their placement at NUS when they had made contact prior to CALS' decision. It has also been beneficial when writing a statement of purpose.

Placements: 2

Suggested majors and/or professional interests: Biology, Biochemistry, Biometry & Statistics, and Entomology focusing on microbiology, immunology, statistics and applied probability

CALS in partnership with Asia Internship Program (AIP), will support selected Fellows in the Spring semester to finalize their placement in an organization or company based on their skills and interests. Placement opportunities focus on business development, consulting, entrepreneurship, environmental policy, design, import/export, IT, law, PR & marketing, and more. The placement process includes an interview with our partner and with the company/organization's supervisor. It is key then, that students are flexible around placement finalization, clearly articulate their personal and professional objectives throughout the application process, and if selected as a Fellow, contribute meaningfully to the matching phase.

Placements: 2-4

Suggested majors and/or professional interests: Applied Economics and Management, Biology and Society, Communications, Environment and Sustainability, Food Science, Information Science

Europe

Szent István University (SZIU) Research Groups: SZIU is one of Hungary’s most prominent institutions of higher education and consists of eight different faculties for study and research hosting approximately 15,000 students with campuses in Gödöllő and Budapest, the latter commonly cited as one of the most beautiful cities of Europe.

Placements: 3

Suggested majors and/or professional interests: Environment and Sustainability, Animal Science, Agricultural Sciences, Plant Sciences, and Biological Sciences

CALS partners with the University of Porto, Faculty of Sciences to offer select placements in ecology and viticulture fields.

Placements: 4

Suggested majors and/or professional interests: Biological Sciences, Viticulture & Enology, landscape Architecture, Environment & Sustainability majors with a focus on ecology, conservation and/or wine tourism and applied field work. 

South America

CALS and in partnership with Puentes, will support selected Fellows in the Spring semester to finalize their placement in an organization or company based on their skills and interests. Placement opportunities focus on communications, public relations and media, development and sustainability, education and teaching, entrepreneurship and startups, finance and consulting, government and public policy, law and human and civil rights, and marketing and advertising. The placement process includes an interview with our partner and with the company/organization's supervisor. It is key then, that students are flexible around placement finalization, clearly articulate their personal and professional objectives throughout the application process, and if selected as a Fellow, contribute meaningfully to the matching phase.

Placements: 2

Suggested majors and/or professional interests: Communications, Applied Economics and Management (esp. around entrepreneurship), Environment & Sustainability, Development Sociology

Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ): CALS partners with USFQ, a long time Cornell collaborator, to offer a set of unique research positions each summer. USFQ seeks to educate freethinking, innovative, creative, entrepreneurial individuals within the framework of the Liberal Arts and under its foundational principles.

Placements: 3-4

Suggested majors and/or professional interests: Environment and Sustainability, Global and Public Health, Animal Science, Biological Sciences, Biology and Society, Environmental Engineering, and Plant Sciences.

Africa

Go Fresh! Go Fresh! is an award-winning Botswana-based agricultural operation that utilizes the latest greenhouse and hydroponic technology to locally grow Grade-1 vegetables consistently, year-round. Go Fresh! seeks to unleash the power of youth leaders and technology to be the largest producer of organic and sustainably grown produce in distributed farms, creating food security for Botswana, creating employment in our communities, enabling our tourism industry and delivering the healthiest, freshest, best tasting produce possible.

Suggested Majors and/or professional interests: AEM, IARD, Development Sociology, ag-engineering, computer programming skills

Placements: up to 4 (2 in Maun on farm; 2 in Gabarone in main office)

Manor House Agriculture Centre: The mission of Manor House is to provide smallholder farmers with practical training, research and extension services in ecological agriculture and agricultural enterprise development. Manor House has been an organic agriculture training center for the past 35 years. It is located in Trans Nzoia county Kenya, which lies on a 1800-2200 masl plateau between Mt Elgon and the Cheranganyi Hills. Daily temperatures are in the high 70’s and go down into the 50’s at night.

Suggested majors and/or professional interests: IARD, Development Sociology, Agriculture Sciences, Animal Sciences, Environment & Sustainability, Dyson, and interests in food systems, markets, sustainability, crop and livestock production, education and more. 

Placements: up to 3, among different project areas

Soils, Food and Healthy Communities (SFHC): The Soils, Food and Healthy Communities project is a participatory, farmer-led organization which uses agroecological methods to improve food security and nutrition in Malawi.

Suggested majors and/or professional interests: Development Sociology, IARD, Environment & Sustainability, Entomology, Agriculture Sciences, focus on food security, and rural development

Placements: 2

Organization of Tropical Studies (OTS): Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) is a nonprofit consortium of over 50 universities and research institutions in the United States, Costa Rica, Mexico, South Africa, and Australia. OTS offers semester and summer programs in field biology and global health for undergraduates. All OTS courses are structured on field-based, experiential learning under the close guidance of highly qualified academic professors, and students visit a diversity of tropical habitats and communities. In any OTS program, students will meet active researchers and local stakeholders and will develop the skills needed for advanced studies and careers in tropical biology, resource management, or global health.

Suggested majors and/or professional interests: Open to all majors, though of particular interest to Environment & Sustainability, IARD, Development Sociology, Animal Science (with a wildlife focus), Plant Science, Biological Sciences, Entomology, pre-vet, pre-med students, ecology-focused, ornithology, disease, and several other areas.

Placements: 3

One Sun Health (OSH): One Sun Health (OSH) is a non-profit organization that promotes sustainable, locally driven solutions to public health challenges through community health education and social entrepreneurship initiatives in South Africa. Since 2011, OSH has run a 8-10 week-long field-based research internship in the Limpopo & Mpumalanga Provinces of South Africa. The internship program is designed to provide students with training and exposure to global public health research and social enterprise initiatives. Students work closely with OSH staff and community partners to expand existing programs and/or conduct research to establish new programs in areas such as malaria prevention, women’s sexual and reproductive health, and youth economic opportunity. The OSH Global Health Internship has three main goals: To engage in mutual learning with local communities in order to strengthen existing partnerships and public health programs, to gain tangible skills in research and epidemiology, evaluating programs and identifying new opportunities in close coordination with community stakeholders, and to build the capacity of local partners and community members.

Episcopal Relief & Development: Episcopal Relief & Development, based in New York City, works with Church partners and other local organizations to facilitate healthier, more fulfilling lives in communities struggling with hunger, poverty, disaster and disease. Our priority areas are women’s empowerment, climate resilience and early childhood development. All of Episcopal Relief & Development’s international development programs seek to mobilize local resources and expertise toward sustainable, community-led programs. In our disaster response and recovery work, we seek to build resilience and reduce risk at every stage.

Suggested majors and/or professional interests: IARD, Development Sociology, possibly AEM, interest in rural development and participatory research

Placements: 2 students

Australia

CALS and in partnership with the University of Sydney, will support selected Fellows in the Spring semester to finalize their placement in an organization or company based on their skills and interests. Placement opportunities focus on food systems, agriculture, agribusiness and sustainability. The placement process includes an interview with our partner and with the company/organization's supervisor. It is key then, that students are flexible around placement finalization, clearly articulate their personal and professional objectives throughout the application process, and if selected as a Fellow, contribute meaningfully to the matching phase.

In addition to the research or internship placement, students are required to participate in a 3-credit hour course taught through the University of Sydney. Students will have the option to take ARTS2600-Internship 1 or EDUH4052-Learning in Outdoor Education. Students can return credits earned to Cornell. 

Placements: up to 4

Suggested majors and/or professional interests: Open to all CALS and Dyson majors with a particular focus on marketing and finance, business analytics, media and communications, and environmental advocacy