“THE GLOBAL STUDIES MAJOR HAS PUSHED ME TO UNDERSTAND MY ROLE AS A WOMAN IN A GLOBALIZED WORLD.”
We’re Making Change in the World
The Global Women’s Leadership SUSI Institute has been shaping the next generation of global leaders since 2012. We're excited to announce that as of June 2023, this transformative program has been renamed in honor of the late Madam Secretary, Madeleine K. Albright.
The Study of the United States' Institutes Madeleine K. Albright Young Women Leaders program brings together undergraduate women from Tunisia, Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, and the United States to learn through immersive experiences. Based on our inclusive and justice-based Women in Leadership Model and through academic work, regional travel, and community service, we help students discover and develop their unique role in global leadership.
This program is a collaboration between Saint Mary's College Center for Women's Intercultural Leadership and the Office of Global Education.
The Study of the US Institutes are sponsored by the Study of the US Branch of the US Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) to foster mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.
A review of the research conducted on gender equality confirms that increases in women’s involvement in a country’s public life—politics, professional occupations, education, etc.—positively increases a country’s economic growth, creates more equitable governance, and generates public trust in government.
– Women’s Global Leadership Consortium
Global Women’s Leadership Projects
Your time at the institute culminates in micro-grant opportunities to implement the innovative leadership project you’ll develop, for real-world impact. You’ll directly apply the knowledge and skills you learn in concrete ways.
The leadership projects focus on combating gender inequality and discrimination issues in participants’ local communities.
These issues include women and political representation, women in the workforce, peace and security, violence against women and girls, access to education for girls, women’s health, women’s entrepreneurship, women’s familial and cultural roles, LGBTQ+ rights, and others.
- Participate in intensive coursework with Saint Mary’s faculty from Gender & Women’s Studies, Political Science, History, English, Global Studies, and Anthropology
- Develop tools for communicating and collaborating across all forms of difference
- Tour regional cities including Washington DC, Chicago, and Dearborn, Michigan
- Engage in community service in women-serving organizations in South Bend, Indiana
- Practice financial, managerial, and grant-writing skills
- Apply comparative analysis of women and gender in the Middle East and North Africa.
Get Involved
Working to create more equitable and just communities for women and girls starts right here at home.
Earn College Credit for the Global Women’s Leadership Institute
Saint Mary’s students are eligible to enroll in GWS 275 Global Women’s Leadership, a six-credit Gender & Women’s Studies course that students take while also participating in the Global Women’s Leadership Institute. This rigorous and interdisciplinary course examines global women's leadership and contemporary transnational feminism, and provides students with an in-depth understanding of women's leadership in a diversity of cultures and contexts. The seminar is designed for students to connect course readings, assignments, and discussion to their participation in the Global Women’s Leadership Institute.
Student Program Leader Internships
Want to put your leadership skills into practice? We provide paid internships for Saint Mary’s students during the summer institute and throughout the academic year. You can gain valuable work experience in: marketing and communication; community outreach; academic services; logistics and travel; and hospitality. You will also gain skills engaging across cultural, religious, racial, and ethnic differences, be prepared to enter a globalized and interconnected workforce after graduation. Student Program Leader Internships are highly competitive and space is limited.
For more information or to apply, email us at abroad@saintmarys.edu or call (574) 284-4051.
Chinaza Ezechikamnayo, Zahraa Mozan, and Sophie Johnson
Listen to a Global Women's Leadership SUSI alum, Hajer Sharief (2013):
Our Partners
Saint Mary’s College is a member of the Women’s Global Leadership Consortium (WGLC),
led by the University of Kansas. The WGLC is a consortium of four colleges and universities that work together to implement four US State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Study of the United States Institute (SUSI) Women and Leadership programs across the United States. Included in the WGLC are the University of Kansas, Saint Mary’s College, Green River College, and the University of Delaware.
We bring together undergraduate women from 23 different countries and four regions of the US. Each year, the Global Women’s Leadership Institute begins with a joint meeting of the WGLC in Washington, DC.
The Global Women’s Leadership Institute partners with local non-profit organizations in Northern Indiana, including: Saint Margaret’s House, North Center Indiana YWCA, The South Bend Center for the Homeless, La Casa de Amistad, El Campito, Hannah’s House, and the Boys and Girls Club of St. Joseph County.
