Global Citizenship Program

A First-Year Ampersand Program

Make the most of your first year.

Introducing literacies of career and life relevant to Global Studies, this First-Year Ampersand Program examines what it means to be a citizen of the world, challenging its participants to engage in both demanding texts and real-life scenarios. This two-semester course sequence led by three instructors from different disciplines will equip you to think critically and holistically about how our own mental maps compare to the realities of a globalized world as you build a community of practice with passionate and dedicated peers.  

 

Through the program's additional weekly workshop, you will develop the skills and the critical consciousness to consider what it means to be a "global citizen" in today's world. During the first semester, you will learn about global issues through a geographical lens and think critically about your identity and positionality. Second semester, you will examine global citizenship from a local perspective, learn about the history of St. Louis, and have the option to volunteer at a local organization as we explore tangible ways to foster relationships and practice solidarity within our own community. The program concludes with a trip at the end of the semester, after exams, to provide further opportunities for hands-on learning and interaction with organizations and people involved in the themes of the course. 

Curriculum

FALL 2025

Geographies of Globalization & Development

This Ampersand three-credit course provides an overview to the geographies of globalization and development in the world today. We begin by engaging with a variety of theoretical perspectives, definitions, and debates in order to establish the foundations upon which students can conceptualize and understand existing patterns of inequality, social injustice, and environmental conflicts. In order to further highlight the different ways in which development and globalization interventions are experienced and contested, in the second half of the course, we will focus our considerations towards specific contemporary issues at the forefront of globalization and development debates, including migration and refugees, urbanization, sustainable development, tourism, and alter-globalization social movements. This course is restricted to first-year students in the Global Citizenship Program. 

Workshop for the Global Citizenship Program

This one-credit yearlong workshop, which is restricted to and required of participants in the Global Citizenship Program (GCP), is a companion to the core GCP fall course. The first semester of the workshop asks students to reflect critically on their own relationship to the concept of Global Citizenship. Through popular education and creative-based methods, students will explore their situated knowledges, worldviews, positionalities, and biases. The course engages with social, environmental, and epistemic justice themes through a decolonizing lens to question and reimagine how to embody critical global citizenship. By the end of the workshop, students will have tools to support their analysis and intentional engagement with the global-local community.

Recommended Companion Course: You are strongly encouraged to enroll in a foreign language at your level of proficiency.

SPRING 2026

Global Migration and Transnational Cultures in Modern Times 

This Ampersand three-credit seminar explores flows of people and cultural forms to shed light on  negotiations of culture and identity as well as interrelations and links in a global context. We cover topics of migration, globalization, and cross-cultural dynamics from a multidisciplinary lens, by investigating case studies of Asian migration and of cultural forms from Hello Kitty and sushi to music and media. Global migration and different cultural references are separate and yet intertwined subjects in our investigation, as we illuminate mobile people and ethnic communities as agents in global cultural flows and reproduction. Students will take a trip to Latin America in the summer. This course is restricted to first-year students in the Global Citizenship Program. 

Workshop for the Global Citizenship Program

This workshop, which is restricted to and required of participants in the Global Citizenship Program, is a continuation of the Fall GLOBAL 1503 workshop. The spring GCP Workshop is praxis-oriented and asks students to apply and further reflect on the concepts learned during the Fall. This year, we will collaborate with youth from the International Institute on a storytelling project focused on our relationship to global citizenship. This project aims to build relationships and foster a sense of community through shared narratives and diverse perspectives. Additionally, students are encouraged to volunteer in the community. Each workshop session will provide a space for collective sharing about our experiences in the community and offer tools for meaningful engagement, social change, community building, and collective care. Towards the end of this journey, students will have gained important frameworks to understand the global and its relationship to our local realities, meaningful life experiences collaborating across differences, and powerful tools for future community engagement.

Recommended Companion Course: You are strongly encouraged to enroll in a foreign language at your level of proficiency.

"GCP was one of the best experiences of my freshman year. It allowed me to meet peers and friends from diverse backgrounds and explore ideas and communities that I never would have been exposed to in any other settings. GCP was not just a class but a community that allowed me to grow in unexpected ways."

-Connor Park, Class of 2026

 

Admission to the Program

How do I apply for admission to the GCP?

After you have committed to coming to Washington University, you will receive a publication entitled “Getting Started” which lists GCP as well as a number of other first-year programs. You are asked to register your interest and submit a brief essay in order to apply, which usually occurs mid-May. Since the applications are handled by personnel in the College of Arts & Sciences, please keep checking the First Year Programs website for updates!

What criteria are used in selecting participants?

We try to make the best match we can between students and program by looking at your background, your current interests, and your academic achievements. A strong essay is key in the application process.

What if I am not admitted into GCP but would like to get started in Global Studies?

There are many ways to gain a global perspective during your first year of college. Courses like World History, International Politics, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, and civilization courses are available to all incoming students and provide a wonderful foundation for advanced study. You can also enroll in modern language classes in preparation for studying abroad. Finally, if you are certain you want to be a Global Studies (GS) major, you may want to apply to be a part of the Global Studies Honor Society.

I discovered that being a global citizen can be achieved anywhere, even with a smaller community, so long as I take the chance to reach out to people and educate myself on the ways that global issues touch my life.

― Anne Johnson GCP Participant, Class of 2023

Contact

Please direct all questions to Chelsea Viteri, the Program Coordinator for Global Studies.

Email Chelsea