Learning Experience Abroad

An international learning experience provides education opportunities for students to acquire new knowledge and understanding of world cultures and languages and to apply what they have learned in the classroom. To meet the requirements of the Global Scholars program, the experience abroad must be part of an academic program or be academically supervised and should be of sufficient length to be meaningful.

The College of Charleston offers many opportunities for students to study, work, and do community service abroad:

STUDY ABROAD

Recent research has shown that study abroad helps students develop self-confidence, improve career options, and develop a more sophisticated world-view. Arange of study abroad options means that studying abroad should not delay matriculation. Study abroad can be done through: College of Charleston semester or summer programs (usually taught in English by CofC professors); bi-lateral exchanges with partner institutions (where immerse themselves in the host country's language, culture, and university life) or by independent exchange (students find their own overseas study program). The Center for International Education has the information you need for studying abroad.

WORK ABROAD

Participating in an overseas internship program is one way students learn to apply classroom concepts and complete the learning process. In an international setting, students do not simply hone their technical skills, they also develop further cross-cultural and language understanding. The Department of German and Slavic Studies has a formalized CDS internship program Germany and the International Business program has also received FIPSE funding to develop bi-lateral and summer programs with an internship component in Brazil, Mexico, and Canada as well as work opportunities in Dubai; other Schools are also developing their own internship programs

Many College of Charleston bilateral exchange programs offer internships as part of semester abroad study opportunities. For those looking for independent internships, GlobalEdge has summary of independent international internship programs.

COMMUNITY SERVICE ABROAD

Service learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with academic instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience. Students participating in International Service Learning (ISL) programs typically explore contemporary concepts like citizenship and identity as well as issues such as political and economic development, social movements, health crises, the environment, sustainable development, terrorism, etc and apply what they have learned in class to their overseas service experience. See the Center for Civic Engagement for upcoming opportunities.

How do I get an overseas study abroad, internship or service learning experience to count towards the Global Scholars program?

Students or faculty members who believe that a specific overseas study, internship or service learning program meets the criteria of the Global Scholars program may petition to have the course added. Download the Global Scholars Overseas Program Approval Form (pdf).