Texas Social Work turns global experiences into local leadership, using international perspectives to strengthen practice wherever students ultimately serve. Through a variety of initiatives, the School is building up leaders with social work perspectives to impact lives around the globe.
Key to that is the Office of Global Engagement, offering students, faculty and staff opportunities for global research, academic exchange programs and practicum education. The mission is clear: foster strategic partnerships on campus and internationally, cultivate a thriving community of international students and scholars and create opportunities for Longhorns to connect with peers and institutions worldwide.
“Social workers address society’s greatest challenges at home and abroad,” said Noël Busch-Armendariz, Ph.D., associate dean for global engagement. “When a member of our social work community engages globally, we believe they leave to learn and return to lead.”
With more than 40 years of international experience, Busch-Armendariz leads the Office of Global Engagement with a collaborative, restorative and reciprocal approach. This philosophy guides the team’s work of coordinating semester-long internships for graduate social work students in Santiago, Chile; Oaxaca, Mexico; Wellington, New Zealand and Cape Town, South Africa. In addition, the School has partnered with the United Nations’ Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees for 30 years — one of the longest-standing institutional partnerships — sending Longhorn interns to headquarters to work with staff coordinating refugee efforts in Ukraine, Syria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, Sudan and Haiti.
Signature Courses Prepare Students Through Study and Hands-On Experiences
The Office of Global Engagement’s newest international course, “From Texas to the Troubles,” launches in summer 2026. The program will immerse students in Austin, Dublin and Belfast to study constructive dialogue and leadership in divided societies while working with community leaders and practitioners shaped by the Troubles — the 30-year conflict that claimed more than 3,500 lives before the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.
Another Maymester course takes students to London to study community issues and social change from an international lens. Through immersion into London’s city life, students deepen their understanding of communities, experience a diverse and multicultural landscape, and explore the historical roots of social welfare and social work. Students also work on in-depth projects examining a contemporary issue in conjunction with local social service agencies.
Leveraging Leadership in Washington, D.C., for Worldwide Impact
Global impact also means building up social workers domestically beyond the Forty Acres as well. A new course called “Social Work Leadership for the Public Good” takes students to Washington, D.C., for the May term to build practical connections between organizational theory, relevant data and real-world application in social work practice. Participants explore strategies for policy promotion and building constituencies to strategically advance issues impacting the public good. The class is open to both graduate and undergraduate students, allowing for a mix of perspectives and experiences.
Whether in Belfast to Budapest, Washington or Wellington, these experiences don’t just expand horizons — they equip the next generation of social work leaders to tackle complex challenges with the insight that comes from seeing problems through multiple lenses.