Global Summer Program

Goals of the Global Summer Program

The IARU Global Summer Program is an exciting learning experience for students from one of the eleven IARU universities. By learning together in one of the intensive summer courses, GSP students form an international community of young scholars who also learn from and about each other.

I would highly recommend the program to my peers, as it is a fantastic opportunity to travel overseas, study and meet students from a diverse range of backgrounds. GSP student 2014 at UTokyo

Address critical issues in a global perspective
Work with outstanding peers from around the globe
Learn intensively at a foreign university
Learn from top researchers

The Global Summer Program aims to:

Address critical issues in a global perspective

IARU GSP courses enable students to do this in a variety of ways:

Taking a multidisciplinary approach to the subject of study
Focusing on major challenges of the 21^st century
Exposing students to fields outside their core disciplines of study and/or
Explicitly using the multinational, multicultural nature of the student group to help students move beyond a national perspective

All GSP courses highlight the particular strengths of the host university.

Work with outstanding peers from around the globe

GSP students are talented, motivated people at some of the world's top universities, the members of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU).

Learn intensively at a foreign university

GSP consists of residential, multi-week summer courses at IARU member universities. Days are full. Students will be immersed in learning in a variety of settings, formal and informal: from lectures and classes to tutorials and field visits, from student panels and debates to intense discussions over breakfast. Students also participate in social activities.

Learn from top researchers

All IARU universities are research-intensive. GSP is specifically designed to give students exposure to research-led learning. GSP professors are both leading researchers and teachers. Students will enhance their research skills by conducting independent library-based research and writing papers, conducting field-based observations and participating in team research projects.

How to apply

The GSP application period for 2018 has closed.

Please note earlier application deadlines for students from UTokyo.

Please review the course profiles carefully to ensure that you fit within the target audience and meet any prerequisites before submitting the GSP application to your home institution.

Important information for applying to the IARU Global Summer Program:

Eligibility
The GSP application process
IARU-Santander GSP Scholarships
Where to apply

Eligibility

The IARU Global Summer Program is open to students currently enrolled at one of the IARU universities.

Due to limited spaces, applications are exclusively for IARU students.

You need to possess a high level of proficiency in written and spoken English. Please contact the GSP Coordinator at your home university for criteria used to determine fluency.

The GSP application process

There are three stages of the IARU GSP application:

Stage I

Send your application to your home university indicating which course(s) you would like to participate in. If not otherwise stated, send copies of your academic transcripts along with the application, and check in the course description(s) whether further application material is needed. Please seek clarification with your home universities about the requirements for credits and funding (if needed).

Applications close on:

Early-February 2018 for UTokyo students (deadline depends on faculties), and
16 March 2018 for students from ANU, ETH Zurich, NUS, PKU, UC Berkeley, Cambridge, UCPH, UCT, Oxford and Yale.

Please note that you must go through the application process of your home university.

Stage II

Your home university will select outgoing candidates for each GSP course.

Selected students will be informed of their acceptance by their home university by 13 April 2018. ETH Zurich will notify its students by 27 April 2018.

Stage III

Selected students respond to acceptance offer by 10 May 2018.

Penalties for canceling an accepted offer might apply - subject to the terms and conditions outlined by each university.

IARU-Santander GSP Scholarships

Thanks to the support of the Santander Universities Global Division, IARU universities are able to provide scholarships to support their students' participation in the GSP. For information on how to apply for an IARU-Santander GSP Scholarship, please contact the GSP Coordinator at your home institution.

Where to apply

Closing dates for applications:

Early-February 2018 for UTokyo students (depends on faculties), and
16 March 2018 for students from ANU, ETH Zurich, NUS, PKU, UC Berkeley, Cambridge, UCPH, Oxford and Yale.

Please note that you must submit your application & transcripts to the GSP contact of your home university.

If the course(s) you are applying for request/s additional application material, include these documents in your application, too.

The GSP application period for 2018 has closed.

Australian National University

Submission via e-application, follow the instructions on ANU's GSP website.

Apply here
National University of Singapore

For application instructions and details about IARU GSP, click here.
For additional information, visit the NUS IRO summer programmes webpage.

Apply here
Peking University

Online application on PKUSSI website:

Apply here
UC Berkeley

For outgoing UC Berkeley students, submit application to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Incoming UCB1: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Incoming UCB2: Submission via e-application: cedberkeley.slideroom.com. IARU applicants can contact program staff to have the application fee waived.
University of Cambridge

Email application to Lucy Gager: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
CC: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
(Put “GSP application” in the subject line)
University of Copenhagen

Send application form to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
University of Oxford

Send application form to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The University of Tokyo

Send application form to the relevant office of your faculty or graduate school by the deadline determined by them, which will vary from faculty/graduate school to faculty/graduate school. Deadline is normally set in early February. It is your responsibility to check the dates.
Please check UTokyo GSP website first for additional relevant information.
University of Cape Town

Send application form to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
CC: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Yale University

Yale students interested in taking NUS1: Southeast Asia in Context should fill out the Yale Summer Session study abroad application after December 15.

Yale students interested in studying at any other partner institution abroad should complete the GSP e-application

Yale students wishing to take the GSP course at Yale should only fill out a Yale Summer Session application after January 16.

Interested applicants should review Yale’s Global Summer Program website prior to applying.

IARU Global Summer Program

The Global Summer Program (GSP) ran from 2008 to 2018 and has been redeveloped into IARU Courses.

The GSP was an exciting learning experience that connected students from IARU universities with their peers from around the world.

GSP participants had the unique opportunity to come together to explore and discuss critical issues in a global perspective that require multidisciplinary approaches.

GSP courses were fun, but intense. Days were full as the classes are rigorous, requiring full-time commitment for the whole duration of the course.

A typical GSP course was between 10 and 25 students.

IARU GSP Testimonials

GSP is a chance to learn from a diverse and dynamic group of people coming together for the purpose of sharing knowledge, learning and getting new angles on research.

Edwina Kisanga, Yale University, 2015 GSP Alumni

GSP taught me to think deeper, out of the box and showed me how to integrate research across multiple disciplines.

Eliza Lim, National University of Singapore, 2015 GSP Alumni

For me GSP enables people from different backgrounds but with the same aspirations, to open up their academic and personal horizons. Overall, GSP was a very mind-opening experience.

Viktor Munter, University of Copenhagen, 2015 GSP Alumni