<p>i'm looking into doing a major that deals with philanthropy i.e. poverty, hunger, AIDS, etc. is there a college that really emphasizes a major kinda like this one?</p>
<p>What do you want to study, and what career do you want to get out of it?</p>
<p>Non-profit organizations generally look to hire people with specific skills such as finance, accounting, writing, public relations, engineering, etc. So it would be helpful if you pursue a degree in one of these areas and then do volunteer work and internships in philanthropic organizatons during college. It is important to make contacts with people in the philanthropy field as many jobs are filled through personal contacts. </p>
<p>I do grant writing for several non-profit organizations. I majored in liberal arts/government and got a master's degree in urban planning. I specialized in subsidized housing at first but have evolved over time to just doing grantwriting for a variety of organizations because I enjoy the writing and research aspects. </p>
<p>If you want to work internationally or for a national non-profit I suggest looking at schools near Washington, D.C. or New York City since most of the large philanthropic organizations are headquartered there. Being bilingual or trilingual is also helpful.</p>
<p>Sociology, Political Science, Economics, and programs like public policy or urban planning can all deal with those issues in depth and provide a starting point for a career path.</p>
<p>There's no point in throwing names of colleges against the wall for you without any sense of your preferences for size, location, etc. or any sense of where you could get accepted. However, a starting point for you might be to read through some of the material at Project Pericles:</p>
<p>Project</a> Pericles</p>
<p>Founded by philanthropist Eugene Lang, the mission of Project Pericles is to encourage and support colleges to include social responsiblity and service in their actually curricula. My daughter took a 12 person freshman seminar that was an example of this kind of course. Each of the 12 students interned at the management level with a social service agency in the Philadelphia metro area as part of the coursework, tying together the academic reading on the topic with hands-on experience.</p>
<p>There are also many excellent study-abroad programs that deal with these issues on global basis.</p>