Ghana: Community Health Systems (GEI Summer Internship)

An 8-credit certificate program to develop skills, knowledge, and understanding that prepare you for leadership and engagement in our global society.

Certificate Program in Global Health | Global Engineering | Sustainable Development | Entrepreneurship & Social Innovation
Disciplinary Tracks: Global Health | Global Engineering | Sustainable Development | Entrepreneurship & Social Innovation
Study Abroad Destination: Ghana
2027 Dates: May 30-July 24 (8 weeks)
Credit: 8 U.S. credit hours (~ 16 ECTS credits) for eligible university students
Eligibility: Any field and level of study

This intensive 8-week, 8-credit residential field internship pairs professional, hands-on work with deep community immersion in Ghana - a stable West African democracy widely recognized for its pioneering community-based approach to primary health care. Working as one interdisciplinary cohort, students take a single school through a complete water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) initiative: assessing real conditions, building practical improvements on the ground, and designing and costing the larger works that lie beyond a single summer.

Rather than separate placements, students join GEI's in-country team as contributors to one shared community project, working alongside a local university partner and its students. Weekly cohort colloquia, professional mentorship, and a final digital portfolio guide students to apply their disciplinary lens, develop leadership as global change agents, and leave the host school with a real, lasting result - while self-directed field exploration connects their WASH work to nutrition, school health, and the wider health system.

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The Community Health Systems Internship is an intensive, 8-credit program spanning eight weeks over the summer, delivered as a professional field internship rather than a taught course. Students join GEI's in-country team as contributing members of a live community WASH initiative, moving through a deliberate arc that builds from immersion and grounding to hands-on project delivery. This progression ensures that students don't simply learn about community health - they contribute real, professional work in a real-world setting.

The eight weeks follow four phases: a week of immersion in the gateway city of Accra, exploring Ghana's health, education, and water systems through expert conversations and site visits; a week of grounding in the host community, meeting the school, the local university partner, and local student peers; five weeks embedded in the WASH project itself - assessment, design, build, and a funding plan for future works; and a final week to synthesize the experience into a portfolio and formally hand the completed work over to the school.

Over eight weeks in Ghana, students apply the principles from their pre-departure preparation - including cultural intelligence (CQ) training - directly in the field. As members of an interdisciplinary team, they take one school through a complete WASH initiative: mapping its water and sanitation systems, testing water quality with a university laboratory partner, building practical improvements alongside the community, and preparing a costed design and funding package for the larger works ahead. Throughout, students cultivate the core competencies of global change leaders in community health, and the program culminates in a community handover and a digital portfolio of their professional work.

As capstone project, students create a digital portfolio that serves as a comprehensive record of the students’ achievements and learning throughout the program. Students gather artifacts from their coursework and field experiences to showcase their development and mastery of skills. The portfolio culminates in a reflective essay and a presentation, promoting self-assessment and continuous learning.

By program's end, students will:

Contribute meaningfully and professionally to a real community WASH initiative as part of an interdisciplinary team
Conduct community-based WASH assessment - mapping, water-quality testing, and stakeholder engagement - to a professional standard
Apply their disciplinary lens (health, engineering, sustainability, or social innovation) to an integrated, co-produced solution design and funding package
Explain, through self-directed fieldwork, how water and sanitation connect to nutrition, education, and community health in Ghanaian contexts
Work effectively across disciplines and cultures, alongside local university students and community members
Present a polished digital portfolio documenting their professional fieldwork and growth

There are no specific prerequisites. Students may be enrolled in any major or minor, and a foundation in a health-, engineering-, or sustainability-related discipline is helpful but not required. Enrollment is generally reserved for sophomores, juniors, seniors, and graduate students, or by consent of the faculty sponsor. Note that this is a professional internship in a community and public health setting - centered on assessment, design, and supervised, small-scale practical building - and is not a clinical placement or hands-on patient care. While we try to place students in cohorts with similar levels of study, this may not always be possible.

Our programs follow U.S. academic culture and standards, and the onsite pace is accelerated and the workload demanding. Students contribute a minimum of 40 hours per week to the project across the eight weeks, supervised by GEI's in-country team, and the U.S. A-F grading scale is used, calculated non-competitively. Evaluation centers on professional performance and practical output rather than coursework, across three components: professional contribution to the WASH project (45%); a final portfolio and presentation (45%), comprising a project record, three connecting-topic field outputs, and an individual presentation; and, for credit-bearing students, a weekly reflective journal, blog, or vlog (10%). Course codes: GEI3990-02 (undergraduate) | GEI7990-02 (graduate).

8 U.S. credit hours (~ 16 ETCS credits) for eligible students via our U.S. academic school of record. After successful completion of the program, you will receive a comprehensive GEI transcript as well as a GEI Certificate in Global Health, Global Engineering, Sustainable Development, or Entrepreneurship & Social Innovation. Please check with your academic advisor at your home institution to confirm how many credits can be accepted for your degree program.

The language of instruction is English.

Ghana is a dynamic West African country known for its political stability, rich cultural heritage, and strong tradition of civic engagement. Shaped by regional leadership and global connections, the country offers a compelling context for experiential learning across disciplines, where tradition and innovation coexist. For GEI participants, Ghana provides an opportunity to engage thoughtfully with local communities and institutions, gaining insight into how global systems intersect with everyday life in a contemporary African setting.

Hands-on fieldwork in a real Ghanaian school community
Students work directly inside a live WASH initiative - mapping water and sanitation systems, testing water quality with a university laboratory partner, and building practical improvements such as handwashing stations, rainwater harvesting, and safe-water storage - seeing firsthand how community health is built from the ground up.

A complete, community-engaged project
Working as one interdisciplinary team with community members and local students, the cohort takes a single school through the full arc - assessment, a real built improvement, and a costed design and funding plan for the larger works beyond it - leaving a visible, lasting result rather than half-finished work.

Mentored reflection & peer learning
Weekly cohort colloquia led by GEI's in-country team guide students through critical reflection on ethics, cross-cultural engagement, and systems thinking. This structured dialogue, alongside local university peers, supports their growth as community health leaders.

Cultural immersion & weekend exploration
Daily life is woven into learning - students sample local cuisine, visit vibrant markets, and engage with Ghanaian culture through drumming, dance, and everyday interaction, picking up basic Twi greetings along the way. Free weekends and organized activities connect them with Ghana's history (e.g., the Cape Coast and Elmina castles) and its landscapes and biodiversity (e.g., Kakum National Park's canopy walkway and Mole National Park).

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The program includes 8 weeks in Ghana. For this time, GEI Ghana provides housing options depending on availability at the actual project location. These may include:

Homestays: Typically single rooms, with shared bathroom, and access to a kitchen and living room
Serviced apartments: Single or shared double rooms, with shared bathroom, and access to a kitchen and living room
University residence halls at our local partner universities: Shared double rooms, with shared bathroom and no kitchen facilities
Simple guesthouses: Shared double rooms, with shared bathroom and no kitchen facilities

Homestay host families typically provide breakfast and dinner. Students in serviced apartments, university residence halls, or guesthouses are usually responsible for all meals outside of core course meals.

You can find additional information in the following blog post: Accommodation – What to expect.

Summer 2027 (8 weeks): May 30-July 24

April 1, 2027

Summer 2027: US $7,950 (8 weeks)

At GEI, we strongly believe in equal access to academic opportunities in study abroad. In order to help eliminate financial barriers, we offer a variety of merit scholarships, trailblazer scholarships, and opportunity scholarships and grants, ranging from $500 to full tuition awards. Each year, GEI is awarding several hundred thousand dollars in scholarships. You can find further information as well as additional resources for external funding opportunities in the following blog post: Scholarships & Grants.

Included in your program fees

Tuition
Housing
Pre-departure advising
Optional onsite airport meet & greet
Orientation
Full-time local coordination and 24/7 onsite emergency support
Course-related activities and excursions, including transportation, selected meals, and guiding
Optional events and cultural activities
Health insurance

Not included in your program fees

Transportation to/from the program location airport (including international airfare and taxes)
Visas
Immunizations
Meals other than those included during the courses
General items and services of a personal nature
Medical expenses not covered by the health insurance provided
Other discretionary expenses

INSTRUCTORS & COORDINATORS

CORE STAFF

All of our staff are highly experienced and resourceful professionals.

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COMMUNITY HEALTH SYSTEMS (GHANA)

GEI CERTIFICATES IN GLOBAL HEALTH | GLOBAL ENGINEERING | SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT | ENTREPRENEURSHIP

AT A GLANCE

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

ACADEMICS

YOUR DESTINATION: GHANA

UNIQUE EXPERIENCES

HOUSING & MEALS

DATES, FEES, AND SCHOLARSHIPS

Included in your program fees

Not included in your program fees

CORE STAFF

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

COMMUNITY HEALTH SYSTEMS (GHANA)

GEI CERTIFICATES IN GLOBAL HEALTH | GLOBAL ENGINEERING | SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT | ENTREPRENEURSHIP

AT A GLANCE

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

ACADEMICS

YOUR DESTINATION: GHANA

UNIQUE EXPERIENCES

HOUSING & MEALS

DATES, FEES, AND SCHOLARSHIPS

Included in your program fees

Not included in your program fees

CORE STAFF

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

We help you develop your competencies as a global change leader!

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