AP/SOSC 4605 6.00
International Development Placement Course
This course allows students to combine learning about the workings of development non- governmental organizations, through a hands-on experience with an NGO and more conventional academic activities in the classroom. The unpaid work placement will be fulfilled with an NGO involved in international and/or local development within the Greater Toronto Area: a) an organization working on the implementation of development programs and projects in an area or country within the Global South; or b) an organization connected to work in community development, environmental protection, support to immigrant, or refugee populations. The student will become involved in the work of the organization by contributing
to the development and implementation of some of the organization’s programs and activities.
Students’ work will be supervised by a staff member of the organization offering the placement. The job assignment will be agreed upon between the two parties with the assistance of the course director before the beginning of the fall term. The organization where the student is placed will ensure appropriate support for the successful completion of the assigned tasks. Direct involvement in the work of an NGO will afford students a unique opportunity to gain practical knowledge of the day-to-day practices of development planning and management. Within these organizations students will attend planning meetings, support research initiatives, contribute to knowledge-mobilization programs, and participate in other routine activities.
In addition to the tasks undertaken as part of the job placement portion of the course, students will also meet in seminars and complete coursework aimed at providing the necessary intellectual tools to contextualize the significance of specific development interventions and practices. Class will meet every two weeks during Fall and Winter. During the Fall students will prepare for their placement. The actual work placement (one day per week, not on the same day as class) will happen during the Winter semester.