Location
  • Online
Term
Short Term
Subject Areas
Business Communications Conservation and Preservation Cultural Studies Entrepreneurship Global Studies Human Rights Marine Biology Public Health Public Policy

Program Details

Program Type
Direct Enrollment

Pricing

Price Details
Visit website for pricing options
Apr 27, 2021
Feb 15, 2023
10 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

For more than 20 years, GVI has provided thousands of travelers with life-changing experiences. Now GVI Online Courses offer participants more than a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a short-term contribution but also equip participants with the knowledge and skills to turn their passion for making an impact into a full-time job.

There are two ways to complete GVI's online courses. If you would like to earn new knowledge and skills in sustainable development, simply book one or more of the online courses and complete it virtually within 2-weeks - No travel required. Or, if you’d like to earn real work experience, then you can combine an online program with any of GVI's volunteer or intern abroad programs.

GVI's online courses apply to a wide range of causes you might like to work towards, much like their in-person programs that are all aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Video and Photos

Program Highlights

  • Courses are offered in partnership with the University of Richmond
  • No entrance requirements
  • 45 hours of online course work
  • Flexible payment options

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Marine conservation

This Introduction to Marine and Wildlife Conservation online course will give you an understanding of the fundamental theories and knowledge used in the field of conservation, and the skills to analyze protected areas through learning about surveying techniques and data collection.

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Complete GVI’s Leading Teams for Emerging Leaders online course to earn your first team leadership role. Study theoretical leadership concepts and earn a certificate demonstrating your mastery. Develop your own leadership style and learn how to set objectives a team can reliably achieve, give effective feedback, and manage conflict successfully.

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Program Reviews

4.96 Rating
based on 26 reviews
  • 5 rating 96.15%
  • 4 rating 3.85%
  • 3 rating 0%
  • 2 rating 0%
  • 1 rating 0%
  • Academics 4.5
  • Support 5
  • Fun 4
  • Housing 4
  • Safety 4
  • Content 5
  • Engagement 4.95
  • Support 4.9
  • Platform 4.95
  • Value 4.9
Showing 1 - 8 of 26 reviews
Default avatar
Felicia
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Virtual Wildlife Conservation Internship

I participated in 8 weeks of the Virtual Wildlife Conservation Internship Program as part of my career internship with GVI. I was partnered with two amazing organizations, one was from Southeast Asia and the other was from California. They both do great conservation work and without this internship I wouldn't have been able to do work with them. I got to do research and learn about primates and reptiles, which I haven't had the opportunity to do before. And by completing my two projects I felt like I got to really contribute to wildlife conservation efforts, and since it was virtual, I got to do it from the comfort of my own home.

2 people found this review helpful.
Response from GVI

Hi Felicia!

Thank you so much for your review and participating in the virtual internship. It's so exciting that you were able to get the experience you need while also making such a great impact. I'm also happy you were able to gain some great knowledge on primates and reptiles in the process!

All the best,
Tiffany (GVI Outreach Team)

Default avatar
Alexandra
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Wildlife conservation course

I took an online course ‘Wildlife Conservation’ and I’m super happy about it. It gave me the opportunity to understand what Conservation is as a process. It was really useful to read and watch real examples of conservation work (based on studies and projects).
The final assessment wasn’t that hard as I imagined and I passed it with a good mark.
This course is recommended for everyone who is interested in work with Nature and Animals.
I’d also like to mention that I had a wonderful support manager Tami. She was so helpful and always was in touch when I needed her guidance/help.

Pros
  • Easy to understand
  • Online - study when you can
  • Online - study where you can
Cons
  • None
22 people found this review helpful.
Response from GVI

Hi Alexandra,

Thank you so much for taking a moment to leave us a review! I'm really pleased to hear you found the real examples in your course useful and that the course content is clear and beneficial! We'd love to have you on another course in the future. All the best!

Elisabet Raquel García
Elisabet Raquel
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Online Course: Foundations in Sustainable Entrepreneurship

As the 2nd place winner of the 2021 Gap Years Fair Scholarship by Go Overseas, I decided to use the $5,000 scholarship to enroll in the online course "Foundations in Sustainable Entreprenuership" (along with funding my first year in business as a Global Education DEI Specialist and Content Creator and investing in equipment to expand my content creation).

The course was so awesome and was made up of four other courses:

- GVI Careers in Sustainable Development:

where I learned the basics about choosing a career path that aligns with my values and mission, along with personal branding & marketing

- GVI Impact Measurement:

where I learned about the importance of measuring social and environmental impact in business and the theories behind how to measure that impact

- GVI Leading Teams for Impact:

where I learned about how to implement impact measurement in a team setting and the tools needed to keep teams on their toes on measuring impact

- GVI Social Entrepreneurship and Impact Investing:

where I learned about the behavioral science behind social entrepreneurs, creating impact, and how to find investors who are aligned with your mission to invest in your business or organization

I gained so much from all of these courses as an entrepreneur in my first year in business and know that I will carry the lessons and tools I learned from these courses with me for life.

Also, I took these courses virtually, amidst the pandemic, and got contracted covid myself while I was taking the courses. Luckily for me, I had an amazing support team from GVI who helped me along the way - thank you Tami!

What was the most nerve-racking moment and how did you overcome it?
My most nerve-wracking moment was having contracted covid during my course enrollment and working hard every day after my recovery to catch up with my coursework. Luckily, I received an extension to complete my coursework! However, just as I was about done, I mixed up the deadlines and was actually one day late.

Out of pure kindness, my course coordinator, Tami, honored my coursework and I was able to receive my certification of completeness after all the hard work I put in to complete all 4 courses in the program.

Thank you, Tami!
47 people found this review helpful.
Response from GVI

Hey Elisabet - thanks for your great review!

I am thrilled to hear that you enjoyed your time with us as much as you did. Your hard work and efforts have certainly impacted this project in a meaningful way. Please do keep on spreading your love for GVI. And obviously, we would love to see you back on base soon!

Default avatar
Clémentine
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Plan your future with GVI

I've always had a strong desire to be involved in the conservation of our earth, its fauna and flora. The problem is that when you have a full-time job completely outside of this area (I work in the hotel industry), you often don't have much space to be as involved as you'd like. So when the Coronavirus crisis started, I saw an incredible opportunity to be able to get involved in the cause again, following the volunteering I had done with GVI in 2014. I quickly visited GVI's website and saw that they offered online courses for anyone who wanted to learn a little more, in conservation, for my part.
I decided to sign up for the Foundations in Sustainable Development - Conservation course. What I loved was the fact that you could progress at your own pace, with live lectures from time to time (which you can watch later). The courses were very interesting, I feel like I've added to my knowledge, not only in terms of conservation, but also for my daily life. Having been promoted to the position of manager at my work, I was pleased to see that the leadership course gave me a solid foundation to take on these new challenges with less fear and more confidence. I gained knowledge and tips that I use daily in my work. Also, having said that I was not a native French speaker, all the instructors were extremely kind to me, spoke at a pace that suited me perfectly and I felt totally confident to tell if I didn't understand something.
I know that in a few years I would like to change my career to work in conservation and having taken these courses has reinforced this idea, because I felt the involvement of all the participants, the instructors, the workers of GVI and it gives a kind of positive synergy that is hard to ignore.

58 people found this review helpful.
Response from GVI

Hi Clémentine! Thanks for your review. I'm thrilled to hear you enjoyed this program! It certainly sounds like you made the most of it. We'd love to see you registered for some of our other courses or back on base in the future!

Default avatar
Cathryn
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Outstanding Online Learning Opportunity

I’ve just completed the Advanced Wildlife Conservation online learning programme through GVI. This programme consists of 6 courses – Wildlife Conservation, Conservation Science & Research, Climate Crisis & Sustainability, Impact Measurement, Leading Teams for Impact and Careers in Sustainable Development. I loved the flexibility of the programme and being able to work this around my day job. The course material was relevant, topical and inspiring. The online learning platform was simple to navigate. And GVI support was outstanding throughout the process, as always. I have now signed up for a GVI Wildlife Conservation Internship next year and I can’t wait to get into the field and put what I’ve learned through this programme into practice! Highly recommend.

66 people found this review helpful.
Response from GVI

Hi Cathryn! Thanks for your review. I'm thrilled to hear you enjoyed this program! It certainly sounds like you made the most of it. We'd love to see you registered for some of our other courses in the future and cannot wait to have you on base next year!

Default avatar
Linda
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

GVI Social Entrepreneurship and Impact Investing online short course

Absolutely loved this course!

You are introduced to the concepts of human-centred design, behavioural science, systems innovation, social entrepreneurship and impact investing through 5 manageable modules which feature engaging case studies, optional in-depth study options, additional resources and weekly discussions.

I would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn how social entrepreneurs and enterprises are driving social and environmental change and how they're finding innovative solutions to the world most pressing problems. You'll find the course content truly insightful and engaging.

78 people found this review helpful.
Response from GVI

Hi Linda! Thanks for your review. I'm thrilled to hear you enjoyed this program! It certainly sounds like you made the most of it. We'd love to see you registered for some of our other courses in the future!

Default avatar
Jessica
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Very rewarding and educational

I did the GVI online wildlife internship program and it was so rewarding and educational! Not only was I provided with classes to learn from, but I was also given a project to create which is now going to be used by GVI and other students for further research purposes! They give you a project in your area so I was able to work with an animal that I had never previously heard of which was really cool. Knowing nothing to being an expert on a topic if very rewarding. If the online internship was this amazing, I can't wait until I can do an in-country internship!!

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
Don't be afraid to do this internship! It may be a lot of money, but it is worth it for the amount of experience you gain.
76 people found this review helpful.
Response from GVI

Hi Jessica! Thanks for your review. I'm thrilled to hear you enjoyed this program! It certainly sounds like you made the most of it. We'd love to see you registered for some of our other courses, virtual internships, or on base in the future!

Default avatar
Cathryn
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Insightful with Practical Application!

I qualified in Environmental Science about 25 years ago. These well-put-together courses have given me insight into what is happening in this field currently while at same time empowering me to apply what I’ve learned practically in my social entrepreneurship work. As a wanderer grounded by Covid-19, these online courses have been a brilliant way to stay engaged with the world and motivated to plan for when the world opens to travel once again! There is depth and substance here. Highly recommend for your sustainable development journey.

72 people found this review helpful.
Response from GVI

Hi Cathryn! Thanks for your review. I'm thrilled to hear you enjoyed this program! It certainly sounds like you made the most of it. We'd love to see you registered for some of our other courses in the future!

Questions & Answers