GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP DIPLOMA DISTINCTION
Gain a leading edge as a changemaker on your path to college with the Global Citizenship Diploma Distinction at Cheshire Academy.
A companion to the highly regarded International Baccalaureate® Diploma, Cheshire Academy offers a separate Diploma Distinction in Global Citizenship (GC). This distinction is a concentration within the academic program for students interested in pursuing an education with greater focus on sustainability, service, leadership, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ).
Why Earn Your Global Citizenship Distinction?
With a Global Citizenship Diploma Distinction, you will be recognized at Commencement and receive a special citation on your diploma. Most importantly, you will graduate having tapped into your intrinsic sense of global justice. Here at Cheshire, you will prepare to be a changemaker in college and beyond. This leadership pathway provides you with the skills necessary to succeed at the collegiate and professional levels.
The firm foundation of a Cheshire Academy education will develop your confidence, logic, research, and critical thinking skills. The added concentration in global citizenship will allow you to focus your studies on issues that matter the most to you – and are important to the world around you. You’ll see a rigorous course schedule through a global lens, setting you apart in the college application process.
The program provides an opportunity to partner with faculty and staff mentors on independent study. You’ll complete a yearlong Global Citizenship seminar and work closely with a mentor on a substantial capstone project to be presented at an end-of-senior-year exposition.
The Global Citizenship Diploma Distinction is available to students in 11th grade – you will have the chance to indicate your interest while working one-on-one with a college counselor beginning sophomore year to choose your unique course schedule.
The Global Citizenship Distinction is a launch pad for many paths after graduation – all of which provide recipients with the opportunity to change the world for the better. Students who focus on sustainability, service, leadership, and DEIJ might choose majors, and go on to fulfilling careers, in:
- Biotechnology
- Public policy
- Medicine
- International relations
- Environmental studies
Why Cheshire Academy?
A History of International-Mindedness
One of the oldest boarding schools in the United States, Cheshire Academy is recognized as a leader in international education, most notably for offering the world-renowned IB Diploma and the Academy’s signature Roxbury Academic Support Program. Cheshire Academy has a long history of global mindedness. First welcoming international students in 1850, the school currently enrolls students from 15 states and 27 countries. International students make up nearly 30 percent of the student body.
Families choose Cheshire Academy because of our reputation as one of the top internationally minded college-preparatory schools in the United States. Cheshire celebrates this diversity through:
- Courses in world religions, global issues, and modern world history
- Holiday commemorations, such as the Moon Festival, Yom Kippur, Diwali, and Lunar New Year
- Affinity organizations and club for students of various religious, cultural, and ethnic groups
- The annual International Community Weekend, a three-day celebration with cultural and learning stations and a much-anticipated food fair with cuisines from more than 20 countries
Benefit from Global Citizenship-Focused Curricular Enhancements
For the 2025-26 academic year, Cheshire Academy announced the largest overhaul of its course offerings in more than a decade to provide the best (anywhere) education for global citizenship. Many existing courses have been reimagined and new courses added as part of the Global Citizenship Diploma Distinction, creating dynamic yearlong and semester courses in relevant topics in STEM and the humanities.
Courses include:
Sustainable Energy
Journalism & Multimedia Reporting
Green Chemistry
World Religions
Logic & Probability
Literature & the Enviroment
Big Data
Genetics & Biotechnology
STEM & Research Methodology
In addition to this host of heavily experiential, project- and inquiry-based course offerings, the new Global Citizenship program will conclude with a yearlong Global Citizenship Seminar course in grade 11. You will utilize your work from that course to launch a capstone project over your rising 12th-grade summer to be presented at an end-of-year academic exposition. If you are a full IB student, you will have the option of using one of your IB core requirements as this capstone project.
Ready to learn more?
For detailed information on Cheshire Academy’s academic enhancements, view the 2025-26 Curriculum Guide or get started and inquire today.
