Global Scholars Program

Introduction

Do you plan for a career working with people who come from different backgrounds or speak different languages?  Starting in the first semester, the Global Scholars Program prepares you to find your place in the world and to serve the global community. You will develop the knowledge, skills, and experience to interact effectively with people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. 

The Global Scholars Program offers an academic pathway that integrates international and diverse perspectives with any major and prepares you for a career working with diverse people at home or around the world.  You can complete the Global Scholars pathway with as few as 14 additional credits, including study abroad, by combining Global Scholars requirements with your core and major requirements.

We invite all incoming, current, and transfer students–from any major–to become Global Scholars. 

You are especially encouraged to join if you speak a second language, or come from diverse ethnic, economic, and social backgrounds. The overarching goal of the Global Scholars Program is to provide all students, regardless of their background or chosen major, equitable access to the benefits of global learning. No prior international experience is required.  

Program Overview

Incoming First-year Students:

Incoming first-year students have a unique opportunity to to study abroad their freshman year with the Global Scholars First-year Seminar (FYS) and companion Global Explorations short-term study abroad.  In the Global Scholars FYS students learn about an international and diverse topic on campus in the fall. Then they travel together in January with the Global Explorations course to experience the topic first-hand.  Application is required.

The Global Scholars First Year Seminar and Global Explorations travel course are not required for completion of the Global Scholars Program. The first required course is HUM 201 Global Scholars Seminar.

Current or transfer students:

First-year, sophomore, or transfer students start by enrolling in HUM 201 Global Scholars Seminar in the fall semester. This is the first required course of the Global Scholars pathway.  In this exploratory seminar students develop improved intercultural competence with a concrete plan for future growth, explore how international and diverse perspectives integrate with their major, and develop an action plan to integrate global learning into their degree and future career plans.

Students then develop broad, interdisciplinary global understanding through completion of 3 courses across the core curriculum focused on international and diverse perspectives.  Students apply global knowledge and skills through study abroad or internationally-focused internship (either local or abroad), usually in their third year.  Finally, students integrate global learning with their primary major through the Global Scholars senior capstone portfolio.

The Global Scholars Program is not a major or minor within an academic discipline, but rather a multi-disciplinary academic overlay that is intended to provide an international and diverse lens for examining and understanding the student’s primary area of study within a diverse global context.