Undergraduate Programs

The Buffett Center fosters undergraduate involvement in the intellectual life of the University and around the world. Students are encouraged to attend Center events and conferences. To find out about upcoming international events at Northwestern, join our email list and/or become a fan of our facebook page.

The Center also offers study and service programs abroad: the Global Engagement Studies Institute and study abroad programs in Prague and Istanbul.

The Buffett Center promotes undergraduate leadership at Northwestern and in a global context. Many student groups and programs were founded as undergraduate initiatives through the encouragement, mentoring and support of the Buffett Center.

To start a new student group or to create an affiliation between an existing student group and the Buffett Center or its Center for Global Engagement, visit our undergraduate support page.

Global Engagement Studies Institute (GESI) GESI brings together students from universities around the country to learn from and work with communities in India, Uganda, Bolivia and Nicaragua. Going beyond traditional study abroad experiences, the program places students in a team setting with a host nonprofit organization where students learn about international community development by developing and implementing a real project in areas from youth education to microfinance and beyond. GlobeMed GlobeMed is a network of students at university-based chapters across the country that are empowering our generation to make a positive impact in the health of communities around the world. GlobeMed aims to strengthen the movement for global health equity by empowering students and communities to work together to improve the health of the impoverished around the world. Innovation For Emerging Markets (IEM) IEM aims to drive social development by creating novel, technology-driven products that will be integrated in emerging markets around the world. Through the marriage of business model development and design creativity, IEM teams work to solve micro-level problems in developing countries. This provides students with a real world design experience, along with a solid understanding of the problems and economics of developing communities. The Middle East and Central Asia (MECA) Report The Middle East and Central Asia (MECA) Report strives to promote a deeper understanding of the local and global politics of this controversial and little-understood region of the world. Each week, we discuss and debate a new topic emerging in the most recent news, approaching the issue at hand from various angles. By incorporating voices from a variety of cultural backgrounds and intellectual concentrations, the MECA Report seeks to present alternative ways of conceiving of this complex region and promote awareness and contextualization for some of today's most pressing global issues.

Global Engagement Summit (GES) Since its conception in 2006, the Global Engagement Summit has hosted undergraduates and recent graduates from over 40 countries and 50 universities, with more than 35 global nonprofits for five days of exchange and capacity building at Northwestern University. Through workshops, direct mentorships with nonprofit leaders, and outcome opportunities, GES delegates develop projects in microfinance, community development, global health, sustainable engineering, and many other change-based ideas. Northwestern University Conference on Human Rights (NUCHR) NUCHR is dedicated to promoting universal human rights. The three day undergraduate student-organized conference unites student delegates from across the country with distinguished academics, activists and policy-makers from around the globe to address a unique aspect of human rights each year. Northwestern Interdisciplinary Law Review (NILR) NILR, the nation’s first interdisciplinary legal review edited by undergraduates, provides a forum for premier legal scholarship that is accessible to a wide readership, yet professional and thorough. Recognizing that the study and practice of law affects all, the current editors hope to publish articles at the nexus of law and the humanities, and is particularly interested in literature, art, politics, sociology, history, and philosophy. Northwestern University Political Union The Northwestern Political Union is a community of students united by their common interest in discussion of political and global affairs, bringing together students of various backgrounds, ideologies, and political persuasions. Throughout the academic year, the group hosts weekly student-run informal debates. All current Northwestern University undergraduates are welcome to participate. Politics & Policy (P&P) Politics & Policy (P&P) is a non-partisan student publication seeking to encourage informed political conversation on college campuses around the country. Made up of students of all majors and backgrounds P&P is a community of individuals interested in why world shaping events occur and what impact these events have on our lives. The 195 There are one hundred ninety-five countries in the world. This multimedia storytelling site is founded on the idea that the experiences students have traveling in these countries are invaluable glimpses into the world at large, and should be shared with the community. Created by students in 2009, this site aims to provoke a conversation that bridges the gap between college campuses and the far reaches of the globe.