Essay

Celebrating a Decade of Global Impact

UVA's Global Studies Program Turns Ten

en years ago, the University of Virginia launched a program designed to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Today, the Global Studies Program empowers hundreds of students to tackle the complex global issues that will shape their futures and the world around them.

Majoring in Global Studies offers a unique and valuable perspective on the interconnectedness of the world. This holistic view allows me to grasp the complexity of global challenges.

Mackenzie Durham, fourth-year student in Global Public Health

A Collaborative Vision for Global Engagement

The Global Studies Program began in 2014 as an interdisciplinary initiative led by then-Vice Provost for Global Affairs Jeffrey Legro, with a committee representing nearly all of UVA’s schools. This foundational team envisioned a curriculum that would bridge disciplines and prepare students for the realities of an interconnected world. The program’s first graduates emerged in 2016, equipped with the skills and vision to engage in meaningful work across the globe.

Without the Global Studies program, I'm not sure that I would have even considered living and working abroad. By the end of my time in the program, I knew it was not a matter of if, but of when I would work outside of the U.S., and for that I am extremely grateful. More importantly, the Global Studies Program helped me understand the importance of respect and understanding that transcends the real and imagined boundaries of our world.

Adam Bernstein, Class of 2018, Global Environments & Sustainability

Growth and Specialization Across Disciplines

Since its founding, the program’s unique pan-university approach has engaged students and faculty from multiple schools at UVA. More than 50% of Global Studies courses are taught by faculty with appointments outside of the College of Arts & Sciences, including Program Director and School of Architecture Professor Phoebe Crisman. The 52% of Global Studies students who double major are also enrolled in programs ranging from Public Policy to Architecture to Commerce to Education.

The program now spans five specialized tracks: Global Public Health, Global Development Studies, Global Environments & Sustainability, Global Security & Justice, and Global Commerce in Culture & Society. Each track offers students tailored perspectives on global issues, providing both depth in their area of study and an interdisciplinary foundation essential for navigating global careers.

Global Studies courses prepare students to tackle global issues by teaching us to analyze and address challenges through multiple lenses. Although each track has its focus, they overlap, encouraging us to think broadly about global impacts across issues.

Michelle Law, fourth-year student in Global Commerce in Culture & Society

Students and faculty gathered around a small round table

Global Studies faculty and students celebrated the ten-year anniversary at the Colonnade Club

Experiential Learning

Recognizing that hands-on experience is key to bridging theory and practice in a global context, the Program offers unique learning opportunities, including program-specific scholarships for global travel.

Thanks to this scholarship, I had the opportunity to travel to work closely with refugees in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement in Hoima, Uganda this past summer for an independent study, which was an invaluable experience in applying what I’ve learned in a real-world context.

Mackenzie Durham, 2024 recipient of the Aigrain Scholarship Global Travel Award, one of two scholarships awarded exclusively to Global Studies students

As of 2024, 50% of Global Studies students study abroad, bringing their classroom knowledge into direct interaction with the world.

Preparing for Impactful Careers

The Global Studies Program equips students with the knowledge, skills, and perspective to approach global challenges across diverse fields, including public policy, law, health, energy, environment, and international development. Its interdisciplinary approach teaches a deep understanding of global issues, alongside practical expertise and critical thinking, enabling graduates to drive meaningful change.

Alumni have built careers at leading organizations worldwide, addressing issues such as climate justice, international diplomacy, and economic development. A recent survey of 81 graduates highlighted their global reach, with alumni working across the United States and in nine other countries, including New Zealand, Hong Kong, France, Germany, and Ireland. Their roles are as diverse as their locations—one early graduate contributes to humanitarian and development assistance with the Danish Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Beirut, Lebanon, while another heads a podcasting network based in Dubai.

Johntrell Bowles, a 2020 graduate in Global Development Studies, reflected, “The program prepared me for a public-facing career in global health, communicating development challenges and reassessing metrics to define health needs for minority populations.”

Current Students

Michelle Law is a fourth-year student double-majoring in Global Studies and Sociology with a minor in Chinese. When Law was a child, she observed her mom and grandparents bartering at a vegetable market near her grandparents’ apartment in Tianjin, China. When she returned to the States, she realized that this practice wasn’t possible at stores in the US. “The realization that there was a difference in trade just fascinated me,” she said. Michelle chose the Global Commerce & Society track after learning about the global flows of goods, services, capital, and people in a Sociology of Globalization class. In the future, she plans to use her Global Studies degree as a foundation for a career in intellectual property rights law to advocate on behalf of creators and inventors and communities negatively affected by international intellectual property frameworks. “The skills developed, and the lessons learned here will help me look at problems holistically, which I hope to bring to my practice.”

Grace Shawah, a fourth-year student in Global Development Studies, is minoring in Middle Eastern Studies and pursuing an Accelerated Masters of Public Policy. Her Arab-Christian background has informed her focus on U.S.-Middle East relations. “My dad’s family immigrated from a Syrian village nestled near the Mediterranean Sea and the Turkish border,” she described. Shawah hopes to pursue a policy research career focusing on United States/Middle East relations after graduating. She credits the program with nurturing a multidisciplinary perspective on the world, a richer cultural understanding, and an appreciation for listening before acting. “These skills are important to my existence as a student, future professional, and a civically- and morally- responsible citizen,” she said.

Grace Shawah seated with multicolored tiles around her

Global Research

Global Studies faculty also pursue cutting-edge global research supported by the Center for Global Inquiry + Innovation. Recent projects include:

“Indigenous Communities and Tallgrass Prairie Resilience in the Face of Changing Climate: A Science, Education, and Co-Design Research Collaboration” - Phoebe Crisman (Global Studies, Architecture), David Edmunds (Global Studies), Howard Epstein (Environmental Sciences), Lora Henderson Smith (Education School)
“Water Reuse, Urban Agriculture, and Heritage Preservation in Cairo's al-Khalifa Neighborhood”- Tessa Farmer (Global Studies, Anthropology), Phoebe Crisman (Global Studies, Architecture), Majid Shafiee-Jood (Civil & Environmental Engineering)
“Digital Democracy: The Uses and Misuse of Technology in Unequal Societies”- Gabrielle Kruks-Wisner (Global Studies, Politics), David Nemer (Media Studies), Siva Vaidhyanathan (Media Studies), Sayan Banerjee (Deliberative Media Lab)

Global Studies students present their own research at the annual Global Futures Symposium, with over 300 students presenting 190 research projects in 2024.

Two students look at a poster at the symposium

Students at Global Futures Symposium

Reflecting on Personal and Professional Growth

For Benjamin Prince, a fourth-year student in Global Security and Justice, the Global Studies major taught him to question his preconceived ideas. “I've found what I've learned over the last four years to be very helpful in distancing my personal beliefs and opinions from actually analyzing and understanding situations, since otherwise it can be pretty easy to ignore inconvenient facts,” he shared. Prince is minoring in East Asian Studies with a focus on China and security and international trade/development issues.

For many students, the program’s community engagement has also been transformative. Through a Global Studies course with Professor David Edmunds, Shawah collaborated with Charlottesville’s Public Housing Association of Residents (PHAR), an experience that reinforced her understanding of local development as foundational to confronting global issues.

Envisioning the Future of Global Studies

The pan-university Global Studies Program has built a unique learning community of interwoven thematic tracks that prepare students to take on global challenges with insight, sensitivity, and dedication. Program Director Phoebe Crisman notes:

Global Studies has grown dramatically over ten years and yet student demand far exceeds capacity. 106 students graduated with a Global Studies major in 2016 and 186 in 2024, making it one of UVA’s fastest growing majors. This increase demonstrates the vital teaching and research depth of our faculty, as well as the relevance of our work together.

With an eye toward the future, the Global Studies Program will continue to evolve to meet the complexities of a globalized world, preparing students to be leaders, thinkers, and advocates for change. Through its commitment to interdisciplinary education and global engagement, the program embodies UVA’s mission to inspire students to create a better world—one graduate at a time.

Emily Mellen

November 20, 2024

Faculty & Staff

Global Research

Students

Study Abroad