Special Section For Students: Academic Credit Option

Unite For Sight programs are a unique opportunity for students to connect their academic studies with intellectually stimulating and high-impact volunteering abroad. Volunteering with Unite For Sight provides unique service-learning opportunities about global health and international development through hands-on clinical service and cultural exchange. We encourage student volunteers to arrange with their university to receive academic credit for their participation in the Unite For Sight program.

"Through this organization[Unite For Sight]...I see that it's possible for medical practitioners, public health workers, and students, to come together and to achieve what seems impossible. That working selflessly with sensitivity to cultural difference and to human dignity, right thinking individuals can together change the way that the whole world works...And to provide a model for all those idealistic young people...who want to do their part to make this world a better place."--Jane Edwards, Associate Dean for International Affairs, Yale University, at the 2008 Unite For Sight Conference

Who can pursue the Unite For Sight program for academic credit?

Many undergraduate, public health, optometry, and medical students pursue the Unite For Sight program for academic credit and/or medical electives at their home institution.  Unite For Sight will complete any paperwork necessary for a student to receive credit, including evaluations of the student’s performance while abroad.

What are examples of universities that offer credit for the Unite For Sight program?

Most recently, volunteers from the following institutions have coordinated academic credit for their Unite For Sight program.

Undergraduate Students

• Arizona State University
• Duke University
• Gettysburg College
• Indiana University at Bloomington
• Laurentian University (Canada)
• Monmouth University
• Ohio State University
• Stanford University
• Temple University
• The College of St. Catherine
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• University of New Mexico
• University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
• University of Utah
• Washington University at St. Louis
• Wellesley College
  

Medical Students

• Birmingham University School of Medicine (England)
• Boston University School of Medicine
• Duke University School of Medicine
• New York Medical College
• Ohio State College of Medicine
• Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
• Stanford University School of Medicine
• Temple University School of Medicine
• University of Alabama School of Medicine
• University of California at Davis School of Medicine
• University of Melbourne School of Medicine (Australia)
• University of South Florida College of Medicine
• University of Tennessee College of Medicine
• University of Virginia School of Medicine
• Wake Forest University School of Medicine
  

Public Health Students

• Boston University School of Public Health
• Dartmouth Institute For Health Policy and Clinical Practice
• New York Medical College School of Public Health

How can I arrange academic credit?

You should consult your academic institution regarding how you can arrange course credit. After you are accepted to the Unite For Sight program, we will complete any paperwork that is required by your university so that you can coordinate credit for your volunteer participation. While many universities offer academic credit for volunteering with Unite For Sight, other universities do not offer this option. You should therefore consult your university to determine whether academic credit can be arranged.

The ophthalmic staff at each Unite For Sight program site will complete any on-site evaluation forms needed for a student's university.

Additionally, receiving academic credit for volunteering often makes a volunteer eligible for university funding to cover travel and lodging expenses abroad.

Does Unite For Sight provide letters of recommendation?

Unite For Sight is very delighted to provide letters of recommendations for its volunteers. The letter may be provided after a volunteer completes their program, and the letter is written based on the evaluation submitted by the eye clinic to Unite For Sight about each volunteer. Using the details provided in the eye clinic's evaluation, Unite For Sight prepares a comprehensive letter that also discusses the role and involvement of the volunteer in the Unite For Sight programs. The letter may also include details about any special entrepreneurial project that a volunteer develops while participating in the Unite For Sight program.

Can I pursue research as a Unite For Sight volunteer?

Unite For Sight volunteers who are undergraduate or graduate students oftentimes develop their own research studies that they pursue while volunteering. The idea, plan, and methods for the study are developed by the student with a faculty mentor at their home university institution, and they also receive Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval from their university prior to implementing their study. Many students have presented and published the results of their research studies, thereby contributing to ideas and knowledge about eye care in the developing world.

Kristin Ow Chapman Discusses Her Research Project in Bihar, India

Abraar Karan Discusses His Research Project in Chennai, India

• "Predictors of and Barriers Associated With Poor Follow-up in Patients With Glaucoma in South India," Bradford Lee, MSc, MD Candidate, Stanford University School of Medicine. [Publication: Arch Ophthalmol. 2008 Oct;126(10):1448-54.]
• "The Prevalence, Use, and Perceived Effects of Complementary Alternative Medicines and Treatments in Bihar, India," Kristin Ow Chapman, MD Candidate, NYU School of Medicine; Unite For Sight Volunteer in Bihar, India
• "Demographics and Prevalence of Eye Problems in Northern Ghana and Rationale for Treatment," Katherine Hill, BA Candidate, University of Utah; Unite For Sight Volunteer in Tamale, Ghana
• "Quality of Life and The Importance of Sight: Ghanaian Versus American Utility Values," Blair Irwin, MBA, MS, MD Candidate, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey; Unite For Sight Volunteer in Accra, Ghana
• "The Use of Visual Aid in Informed Consent for Cataract Surgery in an Indigenous, South Indian Population," Abraar Karan, BA Candidate, Yale University; Unite For Sight Volunteer in Chennai, India
• "Accessibility to Health Care: A Survey-Based Study of the Barriers Facing Patients in Rural Ghana," Amogh Sivarapatna, BS Candidate, University of Virginia; Unite For Sight Volunteer in Accra, India