Global Guide
Welcome to the Global Guide, a site to begin the search for scholarships for research and study abroad, volunteer and internship opportunities, and employment in Pittsburgh, the U.S. or abroad. You can also find reference material on global topics at many of the sites listed. We’ve noted where Global Studies Alumni are working and our office will provide alumni contact information when requested. Let us know if you were successful in your search by sending an email to global@pitt.edu, alumni, please provide feedback by completing alumni update. Please note the Global Studies office cannot attest to the quality of any of the following links, nor do we endorse the mission of all organizations listed.
The Offices of Student Employment and Placement Assistance has provided us with a presentation on internationally focused job searching which can be accessed here.
The Global Studies office has a copy of: Careers in International Affairs, 8th Edition (2008), Georgetown University Press, Washington DC Alternatives to the Peace Corps: A Guide to Global Volunteering, 12th Edition, (2008), Institute for Food and Development Policy, Food First Books, Oakland CA The books can be loaned out for 3 hours at a time. Students will have to leave their student ID as a deposit.
| Organization | Description | Full Entry |
|---|---|---|
| Ushahidi |
We are a non-profit tech company that specializes in developing free and open source software for information collection, visualization and interactive mapping. |
view |
| VIA |
VIA serves impoverished communities throughout Asia. Each year, VIA places approximately 40 volunteers in China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand for between one to twenty-four months. While most VIA volunteers work as English teachers, some also work closely with a local nonprofit group as an English resource. |
view |
| Visions in Action |
Visions in Action is a nonprofit organization that offers six month and one year volunteer positions in Mexico, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. The program features an orientation with language study followed by a home-stay in a local community. Positions available with nonprofit development organizations, research institutes, health clinics, community groups and the media. |
view |
| Viva Nicaragua |
Our mission is to (1) support the efforts of both public institutions and non-governmental organizations working to promote social justice and sustainable development in Nicaragua and (2) facilitate cross-cultural learning by recruiting motivated individuals to participate in experiential learning programs. |
view |
| Viva Rio |
Viva Rio is an organization committed to research, field work and the formulation of public policies aimed at promoting the culture of peace and social inclusion. |
view |
| Volunteer in Nepal, Travel with Meaning |
Nepal offers volunteer placements to people from all over the world in the field of teaching English, health and sanitation, environmental awareness, cultural exchange, and assisting orphans. Since 2000 we have placed over 700 volunteers from 42 countries in various projects. INFO Volunteers have the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational and community aid programs. |
view |
| Volunteer Partnerships for West Africa (VPWA) |
Volunteer Partnerships for West Africa (VPWA) is a volunteer driven non-profit NGO based in Ghana which aims to promote better life opportunities for people in under privileged communities through better education, health, sanitation and sustainable development. |
view |
| Volunteers for Peace, Inc (VFP) |
VFP recruits volunteers for over 3,400 international voluntary service projects in 100 different countries. At a project, 10 to 20 people from five or more countries join together for two or three weeks to support community projects in construction, restoration, environmental work, social services, agriculture, and archaeology.Volunteers can participate in multiple projects in the same or different countries. |
view |
| Washington Internship Institute |
The Washington Internship Institute is an educational nonprofit organization dedicated to preparing college students and recent graduates for their future through substantive internships in Washington, D.C. During a semester or summer in Washington, DC, you will learn about yourself and your field while enjoying the excitement of our nation’s capital. |
view |
| Washington Office on Latin America |
Washington Office on Latin America promotes human rights, democracy and social and economic justice in Latin America and the Caribbean. WOLA facilitates dialogue between governmental and non-governmental actors, monitors the impact of policies and programs of governments and international organizations, and promotes alternatives through reporting, education, training and advocacy. Founded in 1974 by a coalition of civic and religious leaders, WOLA works closely with civil society organizations and government officials throughout the Americas. |
view |
| Washington Report on Middle East Affairs |
The American Educational Trust (AET) is a non-profit foundation incorporated in Washington, DC in 1982 by retired U.S. foreign service officers to provide the American public with balanced and accurate information concerning U.S. relations with Middle Eastern states. AET perceives a dearth in knowledge about the Middle East, Arabs, and Muslims, in the U.S., and pursues an educational mission of “Interpreting the Middle East for North Americans; Interpreting North America for the Middle East.” |
view |
| Wilkinsburg Community Development Corporation |
Mission: The revitalization of Wilkinsburg and surrounding areas through business and residential development; organizational and individual civic leadership; and cultural enrichment. |
view |
| Witness for Peace (WFP) |
Volunteers with WFP work with communities in Mexico, Colombia, Nicaragua and Venezuela making a two-year commitment. Long term volunteers document human rights abuses, study the effects of North American foreign and economic policies on the region, provide sociopolitical analyses of domestic affairs, facilitate sort term delegations of North Americans, and stand with people in the spirit of international awareness and the ethos of nonviolence as a means for positive social change. |
view |
| Women in International Security |
WIIS is dedicated to increasing the influence of women in the field of foreign and defense affairs and enhancing the dialogue on international security. WIIS offers a comprehensive set of programs designed to foster and promote women in all fields related to international security. WIIS has more than 1400 members in forty seven countries from all fields. |
view |
| Women Thrive Worldwide |
Women Thrive Worldwide advocates for change at the U.S. and global levels so that women and men can share equally in the enjoyment of opportunities, economic prosperity, voice, and freedom from fear and violence. |
view |
| Women's Campaign Forum |
The Women’s Campaign Fund, a nonpartisan organization, is dedicated to dramatically increasing the number of women in elected office who support reproductive health choices for all. |
view |
| Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children |
Through research and fact-finding field missions, we identify critical problems that affect displaced women, children and young people, including gaps in lifesaving reproductive health care, lack of dignified livelihoods for refugees and, in the U.S., the treatment of asylum-seekers. We document best practices and propose solutions, and develop innovative tools to improve the way humanitarian assistance is delivered in refugee settings. |
view |
| Women's Environmental and Developmental Organization (WEDO) |
To contribute toward its vision for the world, WEDO’s mission is to ensure that women’s rights; social, economic and environmental justice; and sustainable development principles-as well as the linkages between them-are at the heart of global and national policies, programs and practices. |
view |
| Women's International League for Peace and Freedom |
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom is a women's peace and social justice organization working on disarmament, racial reconciliation, and economic justice. Internship opportunities exist in leadership, publications, program, Web, legislative and development. A 500 word writing sample should accompany your resume. |
view |
| Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Latin American Program |
The Latin American Program and its institutes on Mexico and Brazil serve as a bridge between the United States and Latin America, providing a nonpartisan forum for experts from throughout the region and the world to discuss the most critical issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program sponsors research, conferences, and publications aimed at deepening the understanding of Latin American and Caribbean politics, history, economics, culture, and U.S.-Latin American relations. |
view |
| Work Away |
Workaway.info is a site set up to promote fair exchange between budget travelers, language learners or culture seekers and families, individuals or organizations who are looking for help with a range of varied and interesting activities. |
view |
| WorkingAbroad Projects |
WorkingAbroad Projects is a nonprofit that provides volunteer assistance to small scale organizations on request. The aim is to create small, independent and effective projects that directly engage grassroots organizations in these focus areas: cultural development, earth restoration, permaculture, indigenous rights, and traditional arts and music. WorkingAbroad Projects has programs in Costa Rica, the Netherlands Antilles, and Iceland. |
view |
| World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh |
The mission of the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh is to promote, on a non-partisan basis, understanding of important international issues, throughout the community and with a special focus on the region's secondary schools. |
view |
| World Affairs Council of Washington DC |
The World Affairs Council – Washington, DC (WAC–DC) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to expanding awareness among the American public and the international community of geo-political, business, and civil society issues in our inter-connected world. The council provides a neutral forum for speeches by presidents, prime ministers, cabinet officials, economists, diplomats, scholars, academics, corporate leaders, authors, researchers, pundits, journalists, and Nobel laureates. |
view |
| World Bank Group |
The World Bank provides low-interest loans, interest-free credits and grants to developing countries for a wide array of purposes that include investments in education, health, public administration, infrastructure, financial and private sector development, agriculture, and environmental and natural resource management. |
view |










