GEC program requirements

You can take part in any of the following pre-approved programs to complete your GEC, or speak to the coordinator if you’d like to propose an alternative program or experience. Alternative programs that take place in Quebec may be considered as an international experience, but please confirm with the coordinator.

Pre-approved international experiences 

• Go abroad: The University of Waterloo has agreements with institutions around the world offering exchange, study abroad, summer language, and research program opportunities. 
• Work abroad (co-op): Learn about international work-term opportunities.
• Beyond Borders study abroad: A study abroad program through St. Jerome's University. Immerse yourself in a 90-day placement with a grassroots organization abroad.
• Renison’s Study in China Summer Program: A study abroad program that grants you credits and the opportunity to explore Chinese language and culture.
• International Development placements: Field Placements for International Development students.
• Math in Europe: Spend a term in Europe taking courses taught by Waterloo's Faculty of Mathematics.
• Université du Québec à Chicoutimi: A study abroad opportunity open to all Arts students, to study while immersed in a French-speaking environment.

You can take part in any of the following pre-approved programs to complete your GEC, or speak to the coordinator if you’d like to propose an alternative program or experience. Alternative programs that take place in Quebec may be considered as an intercultural volunteer experience, but please confirm with the coordinator.    

Pre-approved intercultural volunteer experiences

• General English at Renison (GEAR): A volunteer opportunity to build your cross-cultural and peer mentorship skills while volunteering your time helping English Language Learners practice their language skills in class. Perfect for those interested in working or teaching second language learners in the future and would like to be exposed to second language acquisition.

• International Peer Community (IPC): A volunteer peer-mentorship program to connect Canadian and new international students. Due to the pandemic, virtual participation in the IPC program will be counted towards the GEC until further notice. 
• Renison’s Conversation Partner program: A volunteer opportunity to learn about other cultures and develop your intercultural skills. Due to the pandemic, virtual participation in the IPC program will be counted towards the GEC until further notice. 

• Renison’s English Language Institute (ELI) Peer Helper: Volunteer to build your cross-cultural and peer mentorship skills. ELI Peer Helpers participate in classroom discussions and other activities, giving English Language Learner (ELL) students the opportunity to practice English with peers from different culture and language backgrounds.

• Applied Language Studies - APPLS 205R, 304R and 306R: Combined completion of the coursework in these three courses allows you to learn about other cultures and languages by working with international students and observing a language teaching classroom.
• St. Jerome's University in Peru: An international service learning program consisting of a short-term immersive experience in Peru. 

What is the reflection piece?

This is a task designed to help you think about your international experience (IE) or intercultural volunteer experience (IVE). You will be asked to highlight what you learned and explain how your experiences and the skills you have developed through living, working, and communicating interculturally, may help you in future interactions and/or your career.

Guidelines

The reflection is submitted by email within a month after completing the experience you are writing about (IE or IVE). This piece is not marked or graded, but you will receive feedback on your submission.

Choose one of the following to submit as your reflection piece:

1. Written reflection
2. Photo journal
3. Journal entries

Written Reflection

The goal of this piece is for you to reflect on your IE or IVE, to better understand your own experience and the intercultural skills you have developed through participation, and to find a practical application of that knowledge or experience.

Choose one of the prompts below to help you write 1-2 pages (approximately 500-700 words) about your experience.

Prompts:

• Tell us about an experience during your IE or IVE where you made an intercultural misstep (perhaps something you said or did that was considered impolite or was embarrassing). What happened? How did you respond and what did you learn from it? How might you use that lesson in the future when working or interacting with people from another culture? (GENERAL IE/IVE)
• While working abroad, did you identify any differences in work-place values, approaches to a given problem, or observed other behaviours with which you were not familiar, or which you did not understand initially? Describe the situation and what you came to understand. How might you apply this new understanding in future work interactions? How might you communicate the skills you developed through observation and practice to a potential employer? (WORK)
• While working abroad as a volunteer, or if your work involved direct interactions within a community, what did you observe that has changed the way you think about a global issue? What differences did you identify in the way that issue is perceived in that community/country and at home? What informs or affects those differences in perceptions? How is this relevant to your future career? (VOLUNTEER/WORK ABROAD)
• As a student abroad, what challenges did you have while adjusting to a different academic and cultural environment? What skills did you develop through the experience (e.g., resiliency, language skills, self-confidence) that are transferable and/or can be useful in your studies and future employment? (EXCHANGE/STUDY ABROAD)
• Being in a different country often helps students become more aware of their own culture. What happened after you returned from your IE/IVE and re-integrated to living in Canada? What did you notice? How might that affect/inform your working and living interactions with Newcomer Canadians (i.e., voluntary migrants, refugees) or others? (GENERAL – Return)

Photo Journal

The purpose of the photo journal is to allow you to combine your own photos (the context of your experience) with your perceptions and acquired knowledge; it provides a visual component to your reflection.

Choose one of these prompts below and combine it with 3-5 photos from your IE or IVE (see ethical photography guidelines). Include a brief description of the situation in the photo and focus on providing your insights and a reflection. Furthermore, write about what you learned as a result of that interaction/situation/visit, why it was important, in what way it is this relevant to you, your intercultural interactions, your program of study, or your future career. Write approximately 500-700 words.

Prompts:

• Things I didn’t know before living in… and what I have learned from this experience
• Ways in which my experience in… has enhanced my degree
• My internationalization journey in…
• Key moments that changed my perceptions while in…
• Reasons why students should go on an exchange/study abroad/international co-op/volunteer internationally

Journal Entries

The objective of the journal entries is to provide a means for you to discover more about your cultural surroundings, to better appreciate your intercultural journey, to enhance your understanding, and to reflect on your experience. Journal entries may be more suitable if you are writing about your IE, but it is possible to write about your IVE. Regardless of the experience you choose to write about, you should submit six entries of approximately 150 words each. 

IE Prompts:

If your stay abroad extends beyond six weeks, you can space out the entries to cover your full stay. The following are prompts to help you think about what to write each time, and you can adapt any of the suggestions based on your own experience.

• Entry 1: It’s been a week since I arrived in… what struck me the most was… something that really surprised me was… at the end of my first week I feel I’ve learned…
• Entry 2: The most important encounter I had this week was… this was interesting because… I think I need to be/do/approach/interact with/learn about…
• Entry 3: I’m still unsure about how I understand/how to approach/what to do when… Something that seems challenging to me is… Perhaps I need to…
• Entry 4: I think I’ve changed my mind about… at first I thought… I didn’t expect to…
• Entry 5: One thing I’ve learned/I’ve been exposed to that I may be able/would like to use in the future is…
• Entry 6: I’m getting ready to go back to Canada, I feel… What I liked the most about this experience was… Something I’ve come to appreciate in this country is… The way I see myself putting this into practice is… 
• Summary: What are the most valuable lessons you’ve learned through this experience? What skills have you developed through observation and interactions that will help you in your future career?

IVE prompts:

• Something that was surprising or new to you
• Anything that could have caused a misunderstanding and how you managed to sort it out
• Anything that was challenging for you and what you did to overcome it
• How you feel about the experience, and what you have learned through the interactions

• Health milestone plan (PDF)
• Arts milestone plan (PDF)
• Engineering (CI) milestone plan (PDF)
• Engineering (MET) milestone plan (PDF)
• Environment milestone plan (PDF)
• Math milestone plan (PDF)
• Science milestone plan (PDF)