From the Director |
The percentage of U.S. undergraduate students who go abroad to study for any length of time remains in the single digit range. So, too, it is at UIC. But the narrative here is unique from most other universities in a number of ways and counter-intuitive to standard mythologies about study abroad and student access to these opportunities. A review of UIC Study Abroad enrollment data for the past several years shows that the cohort is reflective of the diversity on campus: in AY 2011/12, 47% of students who studied abroad self-identified in an under-represented minority group; 44% were Pell eligible. Just over 50% of credit earned was supported by faculty for credit toward the student's major or minor. And access to programming has been significantly supported by a growing competitive scholarship and negotiated grant portfolio: $250,000 last year and over $1.25 million in the past eight years. See more.
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Scholarship Overview |
UIC Study Abroad students have a reason to celebrate! During the Summer and Fall 2012 cycle they received more than $200,000 in scholarships and grants, the highest total thus far. This includes over $50,000 in nationally competitive awards such as the Gilman International Scholarship and the recently added Phi Kappa Phi Honors Study Abroad Grant.
See more. Additionally, the Study Abroad Office has topped the $1,000,000 mark for scholarships and grants in just six years. This is due, in large part, to the large number of winners in recent years nearly doubling from 101 in AY '06 - '07 to 176 for AY '11 - '12. Fall 2012 also marks the first time that students have received more than $100,000 in a single semester.
Finally, we'd like to congratulate our 13 summer and fall 2012 Gilman International Scholarship winners who collectively received $49,500 in nationally competitive award funds:
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Student Voices |
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"To say that studying abroad was 'amazing' would be an understatement. The experience was something so invaluable and profound that as a tourist, I wouldn't be able to gain. It was an academic and cultural journey I wished I got lost in and never found my way out."
Osamah Hasan, CIEE Botswana |
The people I met were just as colorful, transformative, and incredible as the places I saw and the things I did. Sandboarding in La Valle de la Muerte. Witnessing a live birth. Watching the sun burst over the Andes while my toes froze in the highest geyser field in the world. Being mere feet from surgeons practicing their craft. Watching the sun set upon Santiago, standing atop Cerro San Cristobol. Being present as a doctor tells a daughter her mom is dying. Meditating in front of Laguna Miscanti. Feeling the emotion and passion tied to the biggest soccer rivalry in Chile. Falling in love, with life.
Studying abroad assuredly is not for everybody. There is nothing wrong being completely content knowing only the layout of one’s neighborhood and school. But if you’re looking for answers to big questions… Who am I? What do I want in this life? What purpose exists in what I do? Etc. Perhaps, a search engine that doesn’t end in ‘.com’ could be in your best interest.
Jinit Desai |
UIC Customized Programs |
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Through our continued collaboration with various departments throughout the University, 63 UIC students were able to participate on UIC faculty- led programs to Siena, London, Rome and Udaipur, a 37% increase compared to summer 2011. While we continued to offer our “veteran” programs to Siena and London, we were extremely excited to offer two new programs “Art and Architecture in Rome” led by Prof. Martha Pollak and “Labor, Gender, and Food in Udaipur” led by Prof. Anna Guevarra and Prof. Gayatri Reddy. Both our established and new programs proved to be invaluable academic and cultural experiences for all 63 students. See more.
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"The Siena Study Abroad program allowed me to utilize and expand my Italian language and general intercultural skills. It was a great hands-on experience that I wouldn't have missed for the world" - Tiera Booker, UIC Siena
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“My study abroad experience in India proved to be very enlightening. Not only did I learn about myself , but more importantly I learned the concept of what it means to be a community. I’ve never been amongst such courageous, generous, and hard-working individuals. India not only taught me to be humble and patient, but also to remain loyal to myself and the prosperity of others.” |
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Finding Passion in the Study of Study Abroad |
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{Professor Jeff Gore} As the Coordinator of the UIC Global Learning Community, part of my job is to help students to discover learning possibilities through study abroad. Last Spring, I visited three of UIC's partner institutions in Copenhagen and Amsterdam, where I experienced for a short time the thrill of being abroad: I marveled at the architecture of these two European cities, indulged in foods rarely served in my hometown in Indiana, and I enjoyed the great freedom of getting around on two wheels in these bike-friendly cities. Researching different programs throughout the world, I've been interested to find out how the study part of the study abroad equation might also add to a UIC student's learning experience. US students at these partner institutions take language courses in Danish or Dutch, but the language of instruction, and of so much public life in these international cities, is English. Perhaps most exciting is how these programs of study can give students insights into their major and open new career possibilities that they probably would not have had without studying abroad. |
Danish Institute for Study Abroad (DIS) |
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UIC has one of the top-ranked medical schools in the country, and many students come to UIC as undergraduates interested in going into health-care professions. DIS offers undergraduate students three different Pre-medicine study programs: Medical Practice and Policy, Public Health and Biomedical Research. Because Danish higher education is organized differently from our system, students in Denmark can take courses in medicine as undergraduates that they would not regularly take in the US until medical school. There was a clear sense of developing professionalism among the students of the course I visited, “Human Health and Disease.” Held at an educational hospital, this class gave students the opportunity to study symptoms of diseases, to interview patients, and, working with a doctor, to diagnose patients’ conditions. Other exciting DIS programs include Justice and Human Rights, Global Economics, and the Sustainability in Europe program, which offers students a residence option in a Living and Learning Community devoted to issues of sustainability.
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School for International Training (SIT) |
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With our Gender and Sexuality Center and our Program in Gender and Women’s Studies, the commitment of UIC to issues of identity is clear. The SIT program in Amsterdam is one of two programs of study I visited devoted to questions of gender and sexuality. Located on a single floor of a building along one of Amsterdam’s signature canals, the SIT program space immediately struck me as communal and intimate. The SIT Program in Gender and Sexuality consists of a cohort of about twenty students who all take the same courses together: a morning course in Dutch and afternoon seminars usually devoted to films or guest speakers on gender and sexuality in Dutch and international contexts. Even though the students were from campuses throughout the US, an enviable bond had formed among them by the time I visited in the middle of the semester. All of the students in this program live in separate “home stay” arrangements, and they seem to have no shortage of excitement outside the classroom or in trips throughout Europe. But the most impressive part of this program is the Independent Study Project. In a single semester, the SIT program teaches students about how to conduct research and interview subjects, but the students pursue individually designed projects. Recent titles of undergraduate projects include “Prettiest in Pink? Dutch Teenage Girls and Femininity,” “Growing Up Gay in a ‘Tolerant’ Society,” and “HIV Risk Factors Among Moroccan and Turkish Same-Sex Attracted Youth in Amsterdam.”
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The Institute for the International Education of Students (IES)
Set in the midst of historical Amsterdam, the IES-Amsterdam program allows students to take courses in both IES and University of Amsterdam facilities. Similar to US universities, students in the IES program can choose from a rich variety of courses. Students interested in gender and sexuality can take a variety of university courses, including the seminar “Sexuality and Gender in the Context of Amsterdam,” led by Professor Theo van der Meer, one of the leading historians of sexuality in the Netherlands. One of their most cohesive, pre-professional programs is their International Law program. Students can earn a Pre-Law Certificate by taking “Seminar on Law & Legal Practice in an International and Comparative Perspective” and other courses on European, Islamic, and international law.
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Here is the link to view all Jeff Gore's photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeff-gore-photos/sets/72157630878186470/ |
New Program Affiliations |
The UIC Study Abroad Office is excited to announce a new partnership with the University College Dublin. UCD is one of the Europe's leading research-intensive universities and is ranked among the top 1% of universities worldwide. It is Ireland's largest university with modern campus within minutes from Dublin city center. UCD Quinn School of Business is the only school in Ireland to hold both AACSB and EQUIS accreditation. In addition to business coursework, UIC students are able to take courses in engineering, architecture, health sciences, arts, and humanities. |
Upcoming Events |
UIC Study Abroad office will be hosting various events from workshops on “How to choose a program”, Returnee Panel, Diversity Workshop series to Faculty Breakfasts on second Monday of each month. |