Hal Culbertson
Associate Director


How does the cost of living in South Bend compare with, say, Kampala, Uganda?

Such a comparison might not even arise in a course on global economics. But with the expansion of the Kroc Institute, questions like this have become daily fare for administrators.

Thanks to the generosity of Joan Kroc, the institute has been able to grow in many ways. It has enrolled more students, hired additional faculty and staff, and added a second year of study to its M.A. program. Perhaps the most ambitious component of this new endeavor is the incorporation of a five- to six-month field experience for graduate students.

The class of 2006 was the first to complete international field experiences. Associate Director Martha Merritt, who oversees field site development, debriefed the students upon their return. In this edition of Peace Colloquy, she gives a glimpse of what students accomplished during their internships, and what we at the institute learned about a program designed to test classroom peacebuilding knowledge on the ground.

As budget administrator, I have focused my attention on our stewardship of Joan Kroc’s gift to the institute. What is the price tag on these field experiences? Estimating the cost of relocating 15 students around the globe and providing basic support for five months has its share of uncertainty.

Given the great diversity of field sites, we estimated the likely support costs for each location, based largely on input from our field site coordinators and internship hosts. This led to discussions only a budget administrator could love: How often will a student based in Cambodia commute to her office in Phnom Penh? How much would a student in Jakarta spend on food? Do students living in big cities have to eat out more?

Our students in South Bend receive a stipend of $1,000 per month to cover living expenses. (The institute pays separately for their health insurance.) As I pored over internship program expenses, an interesting fact emerged. Seven students went to field sites with support costs lower than South Bend, while seven went to sites where it cost more to live. In other words, South Bend ended up right at the median of our world of field sites.

So where did Kampala fall? In fact, South Bend and Kampala had fairly similar support costs for a student, but Kampala came in slightly lower. The main difference: lower heating bills.

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Home > Publications > Peace Colloquy > Issue 9, Spring 2006 > Tallying the cost of an above-average experience