2025 Do Good Institute Opportunities

The Do Good Institute (dogood.umd.edu) offers immersive programs, funding opportunities, and internship experiences that prepare Terps with the skills, experiences and resources to Do Good throughout their lives. There are several upcoming programs and opportunities you may be interested in for this spring:Internship Opportunities

• Impact Interns: Impact Interns is a professional development and leadership program that connects passionate and talented students to paid social impact-based internship opportunities with Do Good partners and local organizations. The program is designed to provide emerging social sector leaders with meaningful opportunities to gain professional experience, develop skills, build a professional network and learn more about working in the nonprofit and social impact sphere.  Internships take place in Summer 2025. Internship positions are available for both undergraduate and graduate students. Work areas are diverse (communications, research, fundraising, program management) and across different fields (arts, civics, education, environment, health, international development, justice and equity, and social services). Hybrid, remote, and in-person options are available. Apply now through February 23 at go.umd.edu/impactinterns. 

Experiential and Cohort Programs

• Changemaker Pathways: Want to Do Good but don’t know where to start? Explore ways that you can Do Good in your personal, professional and educational life through this 6-week experiential program for first-year, second-year and transfer students. Register now through February 16 at go.umd.edu/changemakerpathways.
• Impact Bootcamp: Take your passion and turn it into progress. Have an idea for impact but unsure where to start? Need help improving your existing efforts? Start or strengthen your social impact alongside fellow changemakers through this 6-week interactive program for students or teams with new ideas or existing initiatives. Register now through February 16 at go.umd.edu/impactbootcamp.
• Accelerator Fellows: Spend the semester scaling and developing your social impact project or venture and receive a $2,000 stipend. Accelerator Fellows is a great fit for students or teams with developed initiatives that are currently in the implementation stage of their work. Students in the early stage of their initiatives, or still at the idea stage, should consider Impact Bootcamp. Apply now through February 9 at go.umd.edu/acceleratorfellows.

Competitions

• Do Good Challenge: This annual, campus-wide social impact competition has doubled its prize awards this year! Students and teams can compete to win a share of $40,000 by pitching the impact they’ve made in front of a panel of expert judges and an audience of hundreds. Apply now through February 16 at go.umd.edu/dogoodchallenge.

Opportunities to Learn More

• Information Sessions: New to UMD? Heard of Do Good Institute but don’t know what we do? Join one of our in-person or virtual information sessions to learn about the Do Good Institute, what we offer, and how you can get involved. Learn about our immersive programs, funding opportunities, and internship experiences available to help you make a difference while at UMD. Sign up at go.umd.edu/newtodgi.

To stay up to date on program announcements and deadlines, follow the Institute on Instagram (@DoGoodatUMD) or sign up for the student newsletter, Do Good Now (go.umd.edu/dgnnews). #dogoodumd

The last Day to Withdraw from one Course is November 4th. 

November 4th is the last day for undergraduate students to withdraw from 1 course or up to 4 credits for the current Fall 2024 semester with a “W”.

Please Note:
You will need to schedule an appointment with Dr. Stickle if:

• You need to drop a 2nd course and you have already dropped a course this semester.
• You are on academic probation or dismissal and would like to drop a course with a W.
• You need to drop a single course that is more than 4 credits (e.g. certain language courses or research/internship that is more than 4 credits)

How do I know I should withdraw from a course?

Is the coursework in the class so heavy, and/or the likelihood of passing it so slim, that it is taking away from other courses?  If the answer is “yes,” then it may be a good idea to drop the course. It is usually better to drop a course to have 4 classes, than 5 classes in order to perform at your best. If you are currently earning a D or F then you might consider dropping that course with a W. 

Be honest with yourself.  Refer to your course syllabus to get a realistic idea regarding what percentage of your grade is already determined and how much improvement is mathematically possible.  Remember that what is “mathematically” possible may not be “realistically” possible.
Speak to your instructor to get his/her opinion.

Last, if you are worried about “getting behind” in your credits, remember that you could take a summer term class to catch up.

Are “W’s” bad?

No, a few W’s over the course of an academic career are not “bad.”  There will be no indication on your transcript whether you were failing or passing at the time of the drop, and W’s are not calculated into your GPA. A course for which you have a “W” is considered an attempt. Which means, taking this course again is a repeat. 

If I drop below 12 credits, does that make me part time?

No – at this point in the semester, it won’t affect your residence hall status or your tuition.  If you had dropped to part-time during the first 5 days of the semester, it would have changed your tuition bill and your eligibility for housing.  At this point, it doesn’t change anything. Please contact OFSA@umd.edu if you have any questions.

What if I need to drop more than 12 credits?

If extenuating circumstances are causing difficulty with your academics, please contact us because there is help available on campus, and academic procedures to be followed, should you need assistance handling the academic consequences of a personal situation.  It is better to “strategize” now, while you have options, than to wait and do nothing, hoping the situation will “right” itself. Please consider meeting with an advisor to discuss this further. 

What if I’m receiving Financial Aid?

Check with a Financial Aid counselor in the Lee Building NOW if dropping a course would put you below 12 credits.  Most aid programs allow this provided you started the semester with 12 or more credits, but there may be a few that do not – and it can be expen$ive to make an incorrect assumption. Please contact OFSA@umd.edu with further questions. 

What if I really don’t want to drop the course?

If you want to hang in there with your course, develop a long-term (final 6 weeks) study plan and stick to it.  Use all available help sources.

Registration for Spring 2025 classes will be Tuesday, November 12.  To have the greatest selection of courses, you should make sure to get all of your blocks removed before this date.  In preparation for registration, you have a few things to do:

**All students should schedule an advising appointment with Marwa.

3. Register for classes on November 12th (click here to view the Spring 2025 course schedule) We have organized the schedule by time as well–scroll through to the second page.