The Campus Y

The Global Gap Year Fellowship is housed in the Campus Y and administered by the UNC Y. Established in 1860, the Campus Y has long been UNC’s hub for leadership, social innovation, and service. With a 15,000 square foot building in the heart of historic north campus, it is the physical home for domestic and global civic engagement for approximately 2,000 undergraduate students at Carolina. Our students operate 30 committees that are taking innovative approaches to addressing local and global needs in the areas of public health, human rights, youth development, environmental advocacy, education, poverty alleviation, and immigration. Over the past two decades, the Campus Y has seen a significant rise in its international outreach, along with an increased emphasis on entrepreneurial and sustainable strategies for community empowerment.

The UNC Y offers a variety of ways for returning Fellows to engage the skills and experiences they gained during their gap year abroad. Returning Fellows often join committees working for betterment on a global scale. These include initiatives involving human rights, international development, micro-finance, disaster relief, and public health, among others. Or, Fellows find that the skills they gained abroad have important uses on a local level. Fellows can contribute these talents to community partners who work in areas such as immigration, hunger and homelessness, and education and youth. Some of our exciting local partnerships involve organizations such as the Community Empowerment Fund, Chapel Hill & Carrboro Human Rights Center, the Marian Cheek Jackson Center for Saving and Making History, and the Rogers-Eubanks Neighborhood Association (RENA).