Global Practicum Program Expands
Undergraduates will be able to complete their practicum through the Global Engagement Summer Institute (GESI) study abroad program beginning in summer of 2025.
The new option means the practicum has more global reach than ever. In addition to GESI options—which include South America and Asia—undergrads can study in Sydney, Milan, or Dublin as part of SESP’s Global Practicum Abroad offerings.
Both GESI and the Global Practicum Abroad programs allow students to fulfill practicum and global experience requirements at the same time. Students who choose GESI work with a small group or team and are paired with an NGO. For the Sydney, Milan, and Dublin options, students are individually matched with organizations.
- The GESI program will be offered in Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Thailand, Uganda, and Vietnam for Summer 2025. Program details can be found in the GLO portal.
- Learn more about the SESP Practicum Abroad (Sydney, Milan, Dublin)
“The experiential education requirement for the SESP practicum compels students to see how what they're learning in the classroom translates to the real world,” said Mindy Douthit, faculty director of the practicum program and assistant professor of instruction. “The global opportunities offer an even more enriching opportunity to fulfill this requirement because they not only get hands-on experience, but they do so in a richly diverse culture and work environment.”
Gloria Lee spent the fall quarter of her junior year in Milan in 2023, working as an intern at Bilingual Therapy, a group of multilingual therapists in Milan. In addition to shadowing different psychotherapists, speech therapists, behavior technicians, and educational therapists, she helped write psychological assessments and administer psychoeducational evaluations.
Lee had previously traveled with her family to South Korea, Vietnam, Germany, and the Dominican Republic. But she knew very little about the Italian language and culture, and it took some time for her to adjust.
“It was the first time I felt like an outsider to a place I was living in,” she said. “I had to keep a perspective of constantly learning new information and being okay with not knowing things.”
Still, Lee said she thoroughly enjoyed working in a different country and appreciated the exposure she had to a wide variety of professionals in the field. She also had free time to travel and explore. She recommends all undergraduates study abroad if they have the opportunity.
“I realized how quickly a foreign place can feel like home and how capable I am to adapting to new situations and unfamiliar surroundings when I go outside my comfort zone,” she said. “The experience helped me think outside of my limited American perspective.”