International Service Learning Courses

International Service Learning is an exciting opportunity for DePaul University students to broaden their educational experience by learning from communities outside the United States. The Steans Center collaborates with DePaul's Study Abroad Department to offer a variety of international Service Learning opportunities for students. Through this program students have the ability to learn how global issues affect local communities by working in service partnerships that the Steans Center develops with local non-governmental organizations. International Service Learning integrates the study abroad academic experience with a service experience that is intended to provide students with a broader view of local societies in the countries that they are studying in.

Our International program, like other Steans Center programs, is based on an Asset Based Community Development model that is founded on the premise that communities, whether locally or internationally, hold knowledge that we can learn from and opportunities for students to learn with communities by providing service. A key component to the Service Learning experience is the integration of reflection into the academic experience. Steans Center staff works with students, faculty, and partner sites to create a structured space for students to ask questions and make connections that will provide students with deeper insight into complex social issues that affect societies and challenges their perceptions about themselves and world. The program's various sites offer students a wide variety of countries and Service Learning options to choose from.