An academic program of Elon University’s Division of Inclusive Excellence

Global Partnership Scholars
Informed, ethical, and globally engaged in the co-creation of a more just, inclusive, and sustainable world—at home and abroad.

Global Partnership Scholars is a distinctive three-year, cohort-based academic program centered on student leadership, community-engaged learning, and sustained, mutually beneficial partnerships with communities and organizations locally and around the world.

Students enter the program as a cohort and complete 18 semester hours across their sophomore, junior, and senior years. Guided by a dedicated Faculty Mentor, each cohort studies a region and related social issues, builds relationships with community partners, and works collaboratively to develop initiatives grounded in shared priorities. Along the way, Scholars learn to work across differences, practice cultural humility, examine complex issues from multiple perspectives, and consider their responsibilities as partners and global citizens.

A Distinctive Program with Deep Roots

Global Partnership Scholars began in 2002 as the Periclean Scholars Program, when Elon became one of the founding campuses of National Project Pericles. Rather than replicating civic engagement programs that already existed, Elon created something distinctive: an academically rigorous, three-year cohort experience built around student leadership, ethical partnership, and meaningful engagement with communities at home and abroad.

The program’s original vision was shaped in connection with Dr. Raj Arole and the Comprehensive Rural Health Project in Jamkhed, India, a partnership that has continued across generations of Scholars. Over more than two decades, the program has grown into a comprehensive academic experience focused on cohort-based learning, long-term local and global partnerships, and sustained social impact.

The transition from Periclean Scholars to Global Partnership Scholars reflects the evolution of this distinctive program and more clearly communicates its purpose. The program itself has not changed. Its leadership structure, Faculty Mentor model, three-year cohort experience, academic curriculum, and commitment to ethical and mutually beneficial partnerships remain fully intact.

Global Partnership Scholars and Project Pericles

Global Partnership Scholars is the new name of the three-year academic program formerly known as Periclean Scholars. The Class of 2027 will retain the Periclean Scholars title, honoring the program identity under which its members began their experience. The Class of 2029 will be the first cohort to carry the Global Partnership Scholars name. The program name may have changed, but its foundation remains deeply rooted in the vision, values, and commitments that have guided it since 2002.

Elon University continues to participate in the national Project Pericles consortium through the university’s Faculty Fellow for Civic Engagement.

[Learn how to apply]

[Learn more about the program’s history]

[Explore the Scholar experience]

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