Global Poverty & Practice Minor

Students engage in practice experiences locally or internationally with a wide variety of organizations committed to poverty action. When you are in the process of determining your practice experience, it is important to reflect deeply on what kind of poverty action you want to learn more about (public health, education, food security, economic development, housing, and so forth). Likewise, think carefully about where you want to do your practice experience (In the US or, internationally) and what kind of organization (community based, government, private sector, non profit, etc.). There are considerable resources to help you find the best practice experience for you including: the GPP Peer Advisors, other GPP students, our GPP database of organizations (made available to students after declaring), and Cal faculty and graduate students with expertise in your field of interest or region. For local practices, the UC Berkeley Public Service Center can also provide valuable support.

The practice experience can be done any time during the year.  Students who do their practice experience outside of the Bay Area often do so in the summer. Student who complete Bay Area practice experiences have flexibility to complete their practice experience while taking classes in the fall and spring or to complete it during the summer.

The minimum time requirement is 6 consecutive weeks and 240 hours, though students are encouraged to spend as much time working at their practice site as possible.

The GPP Minor offers a fellowship to help cover the costs associated with students’ practice experiences. Additionally, many student receive funding from other grants and scholarships at UC Berkeley and elsewhere. See the Funding page for more information.

If your practice experience meets the minimum time requirements and you are able to articulate how it will help you further learn about a particular approach to poverty action, it likely satisfies the minor requirement. A GPP Advisor will review your practice approval form and let you know if there are any questions or concerns about your proposed practice experience.

The GPP 105 course is designed to support you in preparing for your practice experience. This course will highlight the variety of ways you can prepare for your experience. Additionally, we hold a half day “Pre-Departure Orientation” during the spring semester to help students understand how to maintain their safety and health during the PE. Facilitators who have done fieldwork and research in various regions of the world are invited to this event to also answer questions students may have about living and working in the areas they will be completing their PEs in.

Yes, the practice experience can be a paid or unpaid internship or volunteer experience.

Many GPP students have successfully completed their practice experience while studying abroad.  However, it is easiest to do so with study abroad programs that have a field work or internship option available through the program. View some opportunities here that have been arranged in collaboration between the GPP Minor and UC Berkeley Study Abroad.  Please speak with a GPP Advisor if you are interested in combining your practice experience with studying abroad.