Global Perspectives Academy
Mission: The mission of the Global Perspectives Academy is to explore how we as individuals, as well as our society at large, connect with others around the world. We are devoted to internationalizing our university and becoming truly global citizens. We therefore promote skills that help us to gain a greater awareness of international affairs and understand the global challenges of the twenty-first century. The Global Perspectives Academy facilitates encounters with people from cultures around the world and supports the pursuit of learning experiences outside the United States.
The fact that we live in an interconnected global society is inescapable. The daily evidence is all around us. We send emails to our friends in Mexico in the morning while grinding coffee beans that have been picked in Brazil. We shop at our local mall and buy sneakers made in Vietnam that are marketed as American brands. We have dinner with classmates from Ghana, China, and Poland. We stay up at night listening to hip-hop produced in Japan. And a quick glance online brings news stories of multi-national trade deals, global warming, terrorist activity, and international relief efforts.
We all talk about “globalization.” But what does it mean for us—for the ways in which we encounter foreign cultures, consume goods, use natural resources, and impact the lives of others in far-away places?
The Global Perspectives Academy is a diverse community of students and faculty committed to exploring international affairs and enhancing campus awareness of the ways in which our global society is truly interdependent. Under the direction of Dr. Claude Welch, Academic Director and Distinguished Service Professor, Department of Political Science; you will learn how to:
- Develop an awareness of yourself as a citizen of a rapidly globalizing world
- Gain an understanding for the processes that connect you with others around the world
- Discover the shared interests of nations and cultures around the globe, while respecting that each has distinct characteristics and histories
- Understand the importance of international cooperation and conflict
- Develop skills that allow you to gain international experiences of your own and prepare yourself for on increasingly global labor market
- Use the opportunities available at UB to immerse yourself in the world outside the United States
Seminar Courses
The Undergraduate Academies offer an Introductory Academies seminar—UE 130—in the fall semester. This seminar allows students to explore interesting topics through the perspective of all three academies (Civic Engagement, Global Perspectives, and Research Exploration). Faculty will rotate through the three sections of the course helping expose students to a wider range of views. On a regular basis The Academies will offer academy-wide experiences to help students integrate the various perspectives and to bond as a community.
Through in and out of class experiences, students will:
- develop an awareness of the three academy focus areas,
- begin to appreciate how further study in these areas might be applied to study of important contemporary issues and how this might shape academic endeavors at UB,
- experience and meaningfully contribute to a community of faculty, staff, and fellow students eager to engage around common interests
Students are then encouraged to continue their Academies experience in the spring semester with an Academy specific seminar.
The Global Perspectives (GP) Academy offers a theme based seminar in the spring semester. This seminar is open to all undergraduate students.
The Global Perspectives Seminar: Offered during the spring semester, will help you to:
- Discover what it means to think and act globally
- Deal with a number of today’s global challenges
- Discuss international affairs and developments
- Learn about the history and culture of societies around the world
- Meet and learn with UB’s many international students
- Become familiar with resources and programs that UB offers to help you understand our global society
- Study the history, language, and culture of one specific world region or foreign country
- Link the Global Perspectives Academy with your major field of study
- Prepare to apply for a study-abroad program
- Do independent research on an international or global issue that is of particular interest to you.