Course title: SPEA-V 600 Capstone in Public and Environmental Affairs
Course information: This V600 Global Capstone will be led by Professor Jennifer Brass (O’Neill) and Professor Kathy Fisher (Kelley). The client is Global Mamas, an international NGO based in Cape Coast, Ghana and in the US. Projects for the capstone will focus on developing Global Mama’s Fair Trade Zone production facility as an eco-tourism destination, designing environmentally sustainable workplace improvements, and may involve grant development, fundraising components, or program evaluation elements. This course will include students from the University of Environmental and Sustainable Development (UESD) in Somanya, Ghana, and O’Neill students will work collaboratively with UESD students on the capstone projects. The course includes a travel option that allows students to travel to Ghana mid-August 2025 to consult directly with the Ghanaian Global Mamas team, collaborate with UESD students, and visit UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the country. Travel is not required for enrollment in the Capstone.
Global Mamas
Global Mamas was founded in 2003 as a non-profit organization by two returned Peace Corps volunteers and a small group of Ghanaian women entrepreneurs (“Mamas”). The mission of the NGO is to create prosperity (financial, happiness, and health) for African women and their families. Global Mamas is an audited and verified member of both the Fair Trade Federation and the World Fair Trade Organization. Global Mamas has three main locations in Ghana: Cape Coast, Accra, and Krobo. Global Mamas’s Fair Trade Zone (FTZ) is located in Krobo, 20 minutes from the UESD campus. It is a pioneering facility designed to enhance productivity while adhering to fair trade principles. The FTZ houses production spaces for various crafts, including batiking, weaving, and bead making, and features eco-friendly elements like biogas digesters and bamboo pillars. Global Mamas has a long-standing partnership with Indiana University and was a partner for Professor Brass’s Fall 2023 Capstone course.
The international travel portion of the course will take place in several cities throughout Ghana in August 2025 (preceding the start of the fall 2025 semester). The dates of the travel portion are Sunday, August 10 to Tuesday, August 19, 2025.
The international travel portion of the course will include the following items:
- Lodging in-country
- Ground transportation in-country
- Most meals
- Professional meetings with client
- Site-visits to organizations relevant to client
- Cultural excursions
- International health insurance covering dates of travel portion
- Comprehensive pre-departure training covering country-specific health and safety information
Program fee: $1100
To secure their spot, students will accept their offer with a $250 deposit towards the program fee. The remaining program fee amount will be charged to students’ bursars prior to the travel portion of the course.
In addition to the program fee, students will be responsible for covering their flight to Ghana and personal expenses while on the ground overseas, as well as paying tuition for the V600 Capstone course (3 credits).
Scholarships
We have ample scholarships available for students seeking financial assistance to participate in this course. Scholarship applications are due by February 9 (the same deadline as program applications). Please visit our scholarship page for eligibility requirements and application deadlines. Please note that these are study abroad scholarships, and therefore are only applicable to students participating in the travel portion of the course.
We invite applications from O’Neill graduate students across all degree programs who are in good academic and disciplinary standing. Course capacity is 25 students.
Applications will open on Monday, January 13th. We will take applications until Sunday, February 9th. Admission decisions will be sent to students by late February.
The application is very simple. Everyone who wants to enroll in this course must complete the application. You will need the following to complete the application:
- Personal information (name, degree, GPA, etc.)
- Intention to participate in the travel portion of the course (yes/no)
More detail on who can enroll + priority registration
MPA, MSES, dual (MPA-MAAA, MSES-MPA), and online MPA students may enroll in this course to satisfy their capstone requirement. MAAA, MIA, and MIA-MPA students may take this course as an elective. Consult your academic advisor for further information or ways to take this course for credit.
Students who require this course for Dec ’25 graduation will receive priority enrollment, regardless of their intention to travel or not. After that – enrollment decisions will be first come, first serve with priority for students who plan to participate the travel portion of the course.
The O’Neill International Office will administer a pre-departure training and preparation process covering health, safety, security, and cultural information for students doing this program. A pre-departure group meeting covering these topics will take place in the Fall semester preceding departure for the international travel portion of the course.
