ISA’s Custom Programs division is celebrating its 15th year in service to U.S. universities for their faculty-led and partnerships study abroad programming. Join us for this series of 15 things as you imagine, develop, and implement your own custom programs abroad.
1. Arizona State University
We are continuously impressed by the organization and dedication of the Faculty-Directed Programs team at ASU, where four of the 18 staff members in the ASU study abroad office coordinate logistics on behalf of ASU faculty leaders per their departments and colleges at the university.
2. Carroll College
We appreciate that Carroll College strives to instill a passion in all students for civic engagement, active citizenship, and personal responsibility so partnering with ISA-ELAP as a school of record has expanded their outreach efforts and benefited all ISA-ELAP students.
3. Concordia International Studies Consortium
Seven institutions within the Concordia University System have partnered together to create the Concordia International Studies Consortium, which runs at least one semester-long study abroad program each year. The collaborative dynamic of the consortium is truly admirable as each campus works together to expand the Concordia experience abroad.
4. Elon University
The Isabella Cannon Global Education Center at Elon University offers an extension of the Elon experience to students studying abroad through a partnership with ISA at Veritas University in San José, Costa Rica. With options to enroll in classes with locals, with other international students, or with Elon classmates, and to intern or participate in service-learning, the international programs office advocates for students to participate in the Elon experience beyond campus.
5. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Both campuses of ERAU, one in Prescott, Arizona and the other in Daytona Beach, Florida, work together with ISA and Project GO to send ROTC and enrolled students abroad for critical language learning and cultural immersion. With four major entities working together to develop and support this program, the two ERAU study abroad offices exemplify strength in collaboration.
6. The Ohio State University
The OSU study abroad office goes above and beyond to facilitate transient student acceptance into the university so that participants in their Summer Seminars Abroad for Spanish Teachers [SSAST] program can gain three hours of graduate school credit as they pursue continuing education or their Master’s degrees.
7. Purdue University
Developed and lead by staff in the study abroad office, Purdue’s Global Leadership Program for incoming freshmen is like an orientation week mixed with a lesson in independence and leadership skills, all while exploring a new and exciting international community. By communicating the initiative with students and their parents – once accepted to the university, but even prior to graduation from high school – the program has seen a high application rate each year since its inception. In fact, there were so many applications in 2013 that Purdue now offers two simultaneous programs in an effort to increase the program capacity.
8. Rollins College
Increasing opportunities that provide students international experiences at the same cost of a semester at home, the Rollins International Programs Office offers over 20 specific approved programs with foreign universities and organizations. The Rollins semester programs in Buenos Aires at the University of Belgrano and the American University in Rome are run through ISA and offer a selection of pre-approved courses, housing options, and cultural experiences with the same financial aid applications as students would expect on campus.
9. Rowan University
The International Center at Rowan University really does it all; from faculty exchanges, a collaboration with ISA-AGU to offer an Intensive English Language Program (IELP) for international graduate students, and to faculty-led custom programming abroad, we haven’t yet seen the limit for what this office will seek to accomplish.
10. Texas Tech University
The Rawls Career Management Center & Center for Global Engagement at Texas Tech University is operating independently of but in collaboration with the study abroad office on campus to internationalize internship opportunities for their 4,000 business students. With 90% of Rawls business students interning during their undergraduate career, the Centers are working hard to establish academic credit for international internships and streamline the process for students.
11. University of California, San Diego
UCSD has been a pioneer in the field of education abroad, establishing and running about 20 university-owned Global Seminars each summer. All Global Seminars are five-week long summer study abroad experiences led by a UCSD professor, where students enroll in a package of two courses for a total of eight UCSD quarter units. The Global Seminar program has served as a model for various other institutions across the U.S., and we are proud to offer support services for three seminars.
12. University of Colorado, Boulder
The Leeds School of Business has established an ambitious globalization plan that includes providing global experience opportunities to all Leeds students called the First-Year Global Experience (FGX). With an incredible disposition for liaising and overseeing various stake-holders, the Office of International Education has seen an impressively smooth start for the FGX inaugural year.
13. University of Kentucky
In spring of 2012, the University of Kentucky selected ISA as the affiliate partner of the Education Abroad office who would be able to establish a local branch office on campus. ISA Kentucky was established in an effort to expand advising resources to students at UK as well as colleges and universities throughout the state of Kentucky, which has led to the growth of UK faculty-led programs and internationalization of the Wildcat student population.
14. University of Pittsburgh
The Swanson School of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh is so committed to globalizing their students’ education as engineers, they’ve established their own International Programs office. Students are advised by the Swanson School’s International Engineering Coordinators, and are offered opportunities ranging from short-term faculty-led programs to full semester programs abroad, and even global research/internship/and co-op placements, rounding out their four or five years in a STEM major.
15. Williams College
The Williams College Center for Learning in Action launched the Williams in Africa Initiative in 2006 in collaboration with Professor David Eppel, establishing an inspiring avenue to encourage students to engage meaningfully with the African continent. Each fall semester, in addition to studying abroad in Cape Town through ISA for the fall semester, Williams students intern with the Economic Policy Research Institute [EPRI] to focus on tackling poverty and promoting socio-economic progress in developing countries.
Melissa Stone is a Program Manager for ISA Custom Programs. Melissa works with programs in Belgium, the Czech Republic, the Dominican Republic, France, and Jordan.
He was totally picking up what I was throwing down.