The UC Davis Widening Circles program enables students to explore new pathways for learning, sharing, connecting, and acting with purpose and humility in the face of global inequality and injustice. 

This fully-funded program combines an online curriculum focused on ethical global engagement and social change with a social impact internship, volunteer experience, or research project.

In partnership with Omprakash EdGE, the program is built on the principle of "widening circles" of impact, in which small actions can lead to larger and larger ripples of change. 

Program Structure

• Online learning, mentorship, and community – the Omprakash EdGE online learning platform is designed to help you reflect on the complexities of striving for justice across differences of culture and power and to examine your own location within global flows of power and resources.
• Digital storytelling to document your experience – each student will create a series of multimedia blog posts that eventually form a Digital Portfolio that they can share with host organizations or others; students will present their work at a live Digital Symposium at the end of the program.
• Peer-to-peer learning, webinars, and periodic discussion groups – to support community-building and critical reflection.
• Optional: Social impact internships, volunteer opportunities, or research projects – pursue a remote, in-person or hybrid social impact internship, volunteer experience or research opportunity with an Omprakash Partner or through their own networks. For more information on opportunities, explore the Widening Circles Experiences webpage.
• Receive a certificate in Critical Global Engagement.
• Students who complete an internship, can apply for and receive Transcript Notation through the Career Center.

Student Voices

Diego Lopez

• Undergraduate Student, Environmental Policy Analysis Major
• Internship: In-person with Long Way Home (Guatemala)
• Learn more about Diego’s experience

“The Widening Circles program complimented my internship experience perfectly. I specifically chose to work with an organization that is known for its community work with sustainability in mind because I wanted to be intentional with the kind of work that was going to be completed. The curriculum supplemented the physicality of the work and taught me about insight about being a foreigner. Some of the highlights were the feeling of accomplishment by the end of the internship but also learning about the importance of self-sufficiency.”

Eileen Dobzynski

• Undergraduate Student, Anthropology Major
• Research project: In-person with Project LEAP (Nepal)
• Learn more about Eileen’s experience

“The Widening Circles Program's curriculum is really well thought out! The EdGE platform is designed to encourage critical thinking about your past, present, and future. My favorite part was how it connected students from different fields of study, grade levels, and lived experiences to discuss the complexities of our world and the role life-long learning plays in staying informed and being proactive when facing challenges. Additionally, the mentorship and support from the Omprakash team was amazing! They guided us with phenomenal questions that made me think deeply throughout my 3 months in Nepal.”

Felicia Zhornitsky

• Graduate Student in Medicine
• Volunteer and Research Project: In-person with Sacred Valley Health (Peru)
• Learn more about Felicia’s experience

“I had the incredible opportunity to immerse myself in the work of Sacred Valley Health, a nonprofit dedicated to improving health outcomes by empowering community health workers. Their mission to provide culturally relevant healthcare education to Quechua-speaking indigenous communities opened my eyes to the importance of tailoring medical practices to local needs and traditions. I would definitely recommend the UC Davis Widening Circles program to anyone interested in critically examining themes surrounding sustainable global health work and social change.”

Join the 2025 Program

UC Davis undergraduate and graduate students are invited to join the 2025 Widening Circles program, June 23 – August 22, 2025. Apply now:

• Undergraduate Students: apply through the UC Davis Widening Circles Undergraduate Funding.
• Graduate Students: apply through the Global Grad Grant.
• Deadline: March 16