Global Citizen Scholar Program | Joy Thomas

The Global Citizen Scholar Program is a scholar program offered by the Academy of Notre Dame de Namur for students who are interested in and passionate about global issues, international affairs, and developing cultural competencies. A Notre Dame Global Citizen Scholar seeks perspectives outside of and in addition to her own in order to approach all aspects of her education and personal growth with a curious and compassionate mindset that will deepen her sense of global citizenship.

Goals of the Program

• To deepen the student's knowledge of global issues and to develop her 21st-century global competencies, specifically positive identity formation, awareness of diverse worldviews, empathy, leadership, and intercultural skills such as communication and confidence

• To provide students with the necessary structure to document and connect a wide variety of curricular and cocurricular globally-oriented and cross-cultural experiences

• To prepare students for future academic study and professional life, which will require informed and nimble navigation among diverse cultural norms, knowledge, and belief systems

Program Requirements

Application: Submission of application by date determined each Spring, usually in March. Students will be notified as to acceptance within two weeks of application deadline.

Coursework and Language Study: In addition to all Notre Dame graduation requirements:

• Maintain 3.6 GPA while enrolled in the GCS program

• Completion of four globally oriented elective courses. See the course options below.

• Global Scholars must complete four years of the same world language.

International and Cross-Cultural Experiences:  Completion of three cross-cultural experiences, through which students engage with and often befriend peers who have different identities from themselves; teaching our students the soft skills considered to be vital for success in our 21st-century world. Each experience requires approval from the program coordinator in order to qualify. 

• • Cross-Cultural experiences might include:

    • Academic exchange programs, international volunteer experience.

    • Leadership and/or active participation in international or multicultural organizations. Volunteering/service with local organizations that have a global mission (tutoring ESL persons or refugee children, working at cultural organizations, etc.)

    • Virtual exchanges, international conferences, pen pal communication

    • Hosting an exchange student

Program Attendance: Participation in a minimum of four on- or off-campus global-themed activities and events. These might be lectures, performances, conferences, workshops, museums visits, field trips, etc.. The goal for these opportunities are to observe, listen, and reflect in order to learn more about the world. 

Reflections: Reflecting on novel and unique experiences are critical to cross-cultural learning and skill development. Reflections are to be written after each experience, 1-2 pages in length, and submitted to program coordinator through GCS Canvas Course.

School Clubs: Involvement in one school-sponsored club that relates to global issues and/or studies.

• • Model UN, World Affairs Club, Politics and Policy Club, Diversity Club, Identity/Affinity Clubs, Chinese, Russian, French or Spanish Club.

Senior Research Project: The Senior Research Project through English classes will focus on globally-oriented topic. Field work for SRP should provide you with valid experience for your research and for building on skills related to intercultural or global competencies. Both must be approved by program coordinator.

Progress Meetings: Scholars must meet with program coordinator once in freshman year, twice in sophomore, junior year, and senior year. The student is responsible for scheduling her meetings through calendly once Mrs. Moffat sends out the link. These meetings are meant to check in with the students well-being as well as discuss progress made towards completing requirements. For example; project themes, global extracurriculars, cross-cultural experiences completed, leadership goals, reflections written, course selection, senior research project topics, etc.

Webfolio: Completion a of a global citizen webfolio. Scholars will begin to compile their webfolios in the spring of their sophomore year and will have them ready to be included on college applications in the fall of senior year.   This will include reflections on all aspects of the scholar program (coursework, global experiences, clubs, events, programs, travel, etc.), as well as photos, videos, presentations, and other forms of documentation of their robust and rich experiences in the program. 

Below are the "Global Citizen Scholar Approved Courses" which are additional to ND required courses.

Global Scholar Elective Course Options & Descriptions

SOCIAL STUDIES

-AP Comparative Government

-Global Studies

-AP Human Geography

-World History II

-MacroEconomics

-AP African American Studies

WORLD LANGUAGES

-Any 2nd Language course

ARTS

-AP Art History

-Ceramics I 

-AP Studio Art

-Women's Chorale (only one year will count toward GCS)

-Ensemble (only one year will count toward GCS)

SCIENCE

-STEM Ethics

-Environmental Science

-AP Environmental Science

MATH

-Design Thinking

ENGLISH

Offered 2025-2026

-Women and Literature

-Literature Through American Song

-Global Children's Literature

-Poetics: Art and Techniques in Lyric Poetry

Not Offered 2025-2026

-Skirting the Periphery

-Shakespeare's Sister

-Race, Class & Gender Through True Crime Literature

-Shakespeare in Film

-Writing the Body

RELIGION

-World Religions

-Contemporary Issues in Film