Global Leaders Certificate

Requirement: 3.0 GPA

In combination with a regular semester of studies, the SAI Global Leaders Certificate at our Rome program is designed to enrich students’ experiences while studying abroad and to acknowledge their academic and service work by providing an additional credential beyond a university transcript. The city of Rome offers students unique opportunities to link classroom learning to real world experiences, while living and studying in a dynamic international capital city.

The Global Leaders Certificate is based on the premise that students engaged in their own communities and abroad have increased opportunities to develop leadership skills that contribute to academic and career success.  While in Rome, students will gain awareness of leadership strategies that can be applied in local and global contexts.

Students in the Certificate Program will broaden their awareness of global issues and deepen their knowledge of the local host community’s role in an increasingly interconnected world through exploration of research, engagement in community services and interaction with experts and leaders. Mentoring and structured reflection are integrated into the Certificate Program. SAI coordinators in Rome serve as mentors and meet regularly with students to discuss their progress and perspectives on their individual and group experiences.

The Global Leaders Certificate enhances leadership skills by helping students to understand themselves in relationship to the world community. Both the academic and service components enable students to identify economic, political and cultural forces that shape the global market and influence global leadership.

When applying to SAI, students must indicate on their application the Global Leaders Certificate in their Rome program option. Students will work with the SAI Admissions Counselor to choose at least one designated global awareness course. The course(s) selected will help students develop knowledge and skills related to an aspect of global awareness such as cultural values and practices; global systems and their interconnectedness; humanitarian issues; environmental concerns and international relations.

• Eastern European Politics and Societies
• Economics of Development
• Economics: the Italian Economy
• Genocide
• Global Media
• Global Warming
• History and Politics of the Middle East
• Human Rights
• Human Trafficking and Contemporary Slavery
• Intercultural Communications
• International Affairs
• International Business
• International Diplomacy and the United Nations
• International Economics
• International Management and Entrepreneurship
• International Marketing
• Italian Visions: Perceptions of Italy in Literature
• Latin American Politics and Society Politics of China
• Long-Term History of Globalization
• Nationalism, Ethnicity and Integration in Europe
• Political Development in the Third World
• Political Economy of Globalization
• Political Economy of Oil

For successful completion of the Certificate, students will:

1. enroll in one or more global awareness course (see above)
2. engage in community service during the semester for a minimum of 15 hours;
3. maintain a journal of their activities, observations and reflections on how their study abroad experiences in Italy may inform their understanding of global issues;
4. participate in three special seminars lectures and/or meetings with experts and leaders on topics such as migration, multiculturalism, role of women, diplomacy, social justice, sustainability and globalization;
5. submit a 150 word reflection paper on their activities, community service and meetings with local experts and leaders that describes the impact of these experiences on their awareness of global issues and trends and influences their professional goals and career aspirations;
6. submit a proposed topic for the leadership paper on a specific global issue;
7. earn a B or better in the designated global awareness course; and
8. within 60 days of semester’s end,  submit  the leadership paper that incorporates research and analysis of  the global issue (selected earlier as the main topic), describes how local and global leaders respond to the issue and recommends further social action.

Papers for the certificate will be submitted to SAI for review. Upon successful completion, students will receive a reference letter that confirms completion of the Certificate and related activities in Italy, along with a Certificate suitable for framing.