The Center for Global Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign provides exceptional high school students an opportunity to have an enriching college experience before or immediately after their high school graduation. These intensive summer courses offer college-level interdisciplinary foundations on global studies topics designed to introduce analytical skills and methods for addressing issues from a global perspective. Students that have completed at least one year of high school are eligible to participate.

Each of our programs is taught by faculty and instructors on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus. Participating students engage in rigorous academic studies, meet with college advisors to discuss their college plans, and stay in University Residence Halls throughout the program. Students that successfully complete a course will receive a Center for Global Studies Global Leadership Certificate.

Program Dates: July 24-28, 2017
Application Deadline: May 31, 2017

Sustainable Futures

Sustainable Futures provides an interdisciplinary foundation in environmental sustainability. The course includes discussions with University faculty and expert practitioners, combining an academic assessment of the fundamental challenges of sustainability with case-study investigations of local practice. Students will engage in research, visit field sites, and make team presentations on their findings. The course involves field trips to restored prairie, the University’s Sustainable Student Farm, net-zero and LEED-gold certified buildings, experimental biofuel plantations and more.

For more information on the 2017 Sustainable Futures Course please click here.

Global Health

Global Health offers an in-depth survey of issues and concepts related to global health.  Students will examine and compare intra- and inter-national differences in both disease burden and characteristics, quality, and access to healthcare systems to address those burdens.   The course will study the intersections of nutrition, taking note of medical, economic, social, epidemiological, and political contributors to healthcare access and quality, and enable students to think critically about the broader implications of health as a human right.

For more information on the 2017 Global Health Course please click here.

Human Rights

Human Rights serves as an introduction to the law, theories, and practice of international human rights, together with the instruments, organizations and arrangements that affect their implementation and enforcement. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted in 1948 and has become a referential document for many oppressed peoples across the world. Since then, there have been conventions and covenants passed, and many organizations created to pursue and monitor human rights. However, there remains a yawning chasm between human rights policies and practices. This course will look at some of the philosophical and religious precursors of the UDHR, the circumstances that led to the creation and adoption of the UDHR, and a critical analysis of some of the most pressing human rights today. We will take field trips and speak to experts, and the course will end with students working in groups to envision and sketch proposed solutions to some human rights issues. 

For more information on the 2017 Human Rights Course please click here.