Gap/Bridge Year(s)

The Pre-Professional Office and Homewood Career Services can assist students in finding ways to use the gap/bridge year productively, whether it be through employment opportunities, additional courses, volunteer work, graduate degree study, or research. This page reviews many great websites and resources to help you research and pursue meaningful gap/bridge year experiences. The focus on this page is on not post-baccalaureate or masters degree programs to enhance undergraduate academics. Rather, the focus here is on securing research, other employment, and volunteer/service opportunities. Let’s first start with examples of gap/bridge year experiences of JHU graduates over recent years.

Gap/Bridge Year Survey of Recent Graduates

We are very pleased to share the results of a Gap/Bridge Year Survey of Recent Graduates administered during the fall 2015. We had a total of 265 respondents!! This is an easily accessible list of employment, graduate school, research, and volunteer activities pursued by JHU students for their gap/bridge year, or, in some cases, years. Below are the two documents:

• Excel Document: Gap.Bridge.Year.Survey.12.2017
• PDF Document: Gap.Bridge.Year.Advice.12.2015

Regarding the Excel sheet, please note the following comments:

1. The categorization of “Gap/Bridge Type” oftentimes includes multiple experiences – read the “Gap/Bridge Year Experience Descriptions” carefully.
2. There are graduates who did not grant permission for their name/email address to be shared with those using the survey. We indicate this with the notation “Not Released” (you are free to contact the remainder of the graduates who have granted permission).

Selected Overview Resources

• PDF Document: Guide to Post-Graduate Opportunities (JHU Career Services)
• GapYear and Short-Term Post-Graduate Opps (Yale University Career Services)
• PDF Document: International Internship and Gap Year Opportunities (Calvin College)
• Idealist.Org (database of volunteer opportunities worldwide; the website also maintains job and internship boards) and their Idealist Guide for First-Time Job Seekers
• PDF Document: Local, Domestic and Global Volunteer Health Opportunities (JHU Career Services)

Selected Volunteer Organizations

• Americorps.org (program participants work with nonprofits, schools, public agencies, and community and faith-based groups across the US.)
• City Year
• FEMA Corps (members travel throughout one of five regions in the United States completing service projects relating to disaster preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery activities.)
• TNTP Teaching Fellows (TNTP Teaching Fellows is a rigorous alternative certification program that recruits and trains talented career changers and recent college graduates to be outstanding teachers in high-need schools across the country.)
• Global Health Fellow (Fellows work with high-impact health organizations in yearlong paid positions. Throughout the year, they engage in intensive leadership development and community building, striving to embody our leadership practices as they work to address health inequities across the global health field.)
• Partners for Public Service
• Bridging the Gaps
• Philadelphia Health Corps
• Strong City Baltimore – Americorps VISTA
• New York City Cares
• Match Corps / Match Education
• Habitat for Humanity
• Congressional National Hunger Fellows
• Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
• Families USA (Villers and Wellstone Fellowships)
• Take the Fight (“Teach for America” for healthcare)
  (see the TTF Facebook page)

Selected Research Opportunities

• NIH-Postbaccalaureate IRTA
• JHU Post-Baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP)
• Clinical Trials.gov

Finally, if you were work full-time job in public service, you may qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Go to this site to learn more about, (a) What is a Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program?, (b) What must I do to have any remaining balances on my Direct Loans forgiven under the PSLF program?, and (c) What loans are eligible for forgiveness?