Undergraduate Field Study

Full Time Field Study

The Community Studies Program takes pride in the experiential education component of our major, one in which you can both contribute to and learn from organizations that are actively working for social change in a variety of fields. During the course of the major, you are required to complete both a part-time and a full-time field study internship.

The two-quarter full-time field study is required of all Community Studies majors and is taken over the summer and fall quarters. Your field study must be related to the topical area you choose. Full time field studies may be arranged in Santa Cruz or elsewhere in the United States. The Department has a field study resource office to help you select and develop their full-time field study, located in Oakes College 214. All field placements must be approved by your topical advisor.

Part-Time Field Study

Community Studies majors will be placed into their part-time internship during the second week of the “CMMU 102: Preparation for Field Study” course. More information on the requirements of the part-time internship will be emailed to students prior to the beginning of CMMU 102.

One Student's Full-Time Field Study Experience

Chiara Cabiglio worked with the Darfur Peace and Development Organization in Washington, D.C.; she writes:
"Darfur Peace and Development Organization (DPDO) is a non-profit that provides humanitarian and development assistance to the victims of genocide in Darfur, Sudan. The organization is recreating the co-dependent ecology that once existed in Darfur by educating the youth, empowering and protecting the women, and engaging in grassroots peace-building.
Since only three full-time employees (who need all the help they can receive) work in DPDO’s Washington D.C. office, I virtually did everything and anything. Some of these tasks included: searching for upcoming Senate/House of Representatives hearings, outreach and social networking through Facebook, Twitter, etc., writing and sending press releases, writing articles and posting them with pictures to our website, contacting Congressmen, celebrities, organizations and newspapers, assisting with research for the completion of grant proposals, searching for grant making foundations, emailing email inquiries, sending proposals, and much, much more. Most notably, I was given permission to create and organize an event entirely on my own, which I called “Dara for Unity and Hope.”
During my time in D.C. I also attended the Pledge 2 Protect conference and marched on Capitol Hill with more than 1,000 students, calling on Congress to prevent genocide and mass atrocities in Darfur, southern Sudan, the Congo, Burma, and elsewhere.

Working with DPDO exceeded my expectations because I learned how important humanitarian work is in addition to advocacy. I also was able to work alongside the Founder and President of DPDO, Suliman Giddo, who is from Darfur. Hearing his stories and seeing how hard he works every single day for his people truly was inspiring. For more information, please visit http://www.darfurpeace.org ."