Overview
The CALS Global Fellows Program supports CALS undergraduate students from any major in pursuit of challenging, professionally-focused summer internships and research placements that enhance and complement their career goals and academic progress while enriching their undergraduate experience with diverse cultural and international immersion. Through key partnerships, the Global Fellows Program provides a platform for students to make positive and definable contributions to global organizations and communities.
Acceptance to the program is competitive and a limited number of students are selected each year. Selected Fellows receive a stipend to offset major expenses.
Students who are accepted into the CALS Global Fellows Program will be required to complete 4 parts of the program:
- An in-person 7-week, Spring (session 2) pre-engagement 1 credit course ALS 2300, focusing on health and safety, cultural awareness, logistics and more.
- a continuous 7–8-week internship or research placement in an international setting
- and a 7-week, 1 credit post-engagement course in the first half of the Fall semester (ALS/GDEV 3105)
- Poster Symposium in the Fall
Suggested majors and/or professional interests: Global Development, Agricultural Science, Information Science, Food Science, Global Health, and/or students focusing on economics, agriculture, international relations, development studies, health, nutrition, human ecology, gender studies,
Information Session:
Please visit the CALS Engaged & Experiential Learning Symposium, Oct 23rd 4:45-6:15 pm.. Mann B75
Placement Opportunities
Placements: 2 total spots available (in-person in India)
Tata-Cornell Institute (TCI) is a long-term research initiative focusing on the design and evaluation of innovative interventions linking agriculture, food systems, human nutrition, and poverty in India. TCI is part of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Department of Global Development.
Interns are based in TCI’s Center of Excellence, in New Delhi, and will have predetermined deliverables and resources and support to carry them out.
In 2026 the following internship opportunities are available:
- Promoting Value Chains for Climate Resilience and Nutritious Diets
- Zero-Hunger, Zero-Carbon Food Systems
- Data ecosystems for food systems research
In the statement of interest, applicants should identify which project(s) they are interested in, and why.
The goals of the internships:
- To provide students with a learning experience on topics relating to agriculture, food, and nutrition.
- Enhance the participants understanding of food policy and challenges within food systems in the context of India.
- Exposure to data collection, management, and analytical skills.
Preferred qualifications: Knowledge of both quantitative and qualitative techniques will be useful during the internship. However, TCI is willing to work with a range of skillsets students would bring from their respective disciplines. It will be helpful however, if students specify how their skill sets would contribute or be useful to the projects they are interested in.
Hear from previous Interns
Elie Ntakirutimana's Blog about his experience with TATA Cornell, Summer 2025 and his POSTER
Sriramulu Modadugula's Blog about his experience with TATA Cornell, Summer 2025 and his POSTER
Video of 2018 Global Fellows discussing their experience.
Selection: TCI and the CALS Global Fellows Program selection committee both interview final candidates. Exact specifics of each placement will be finalized through the Spring semester.
We encourage you to apply to your first choice program only. There is a space within the application to indicate if you have a second choice. If you are interested in two opportunities that are very different from one another and would prefer to write two statements of purpose, you may upload both to the same application in ONE document. Make sure they are clearly titled with the correct placement opportunity IF you are writing two statements. For reference, you can review examples of statements from past participants.
You may preview the application without starting an application by clicking on the “preview application” button next to the apply button. All applications contain the same questions and all information related to the program can be found within the experience page. There is no additional information within the application.
