By Dr. Vicky Klima and Kistler Hunt
The Honors College provided four faculty-led study-abroad trips over the summer of 2023, to Austria, Guatemala, Cuba, and the United Kingdom. Each of these trips supported students’ individual holistic development and engagement beyond themselves, across disciplinary boundaries, and in collaboration with others. Honors College students are required to complete a total of nine semester hours of Honors College (HON) seminar credits to graduate with University Honors, and Honors College faculty-led study abroad experiences count for three-to-six semester hours of HON 2515 and/or HON 3515 credits, depending on the program. Students in these seminars not only explore interdisciplinary topics from a variety of perspectives, but they experienced them together as a community of learners.
Photos above feature the four, summer 2023 Honors College faculty-led study-abroad trips: (top left) Austria, (top right) Guatemala, (bottom right) Cuba, and (bottom left) the United Kingdom.
James Moser, rising junior studying applied and public history participated in the Summer 2023 HON 2515 and HON 3515: Cuba Libre faculty-led trip by Dr. Joseph Gonzalez, associate professor in the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, and Emily Daughtridge, professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance. Moser described the impact of studying abroad,
“Lectures can only get you so far. Boots-on-the-ground experience is another thing entirely. Everything you learn feels much more immediate, much more real, and much more important—as knowledge ought to be.”
The Honors College’s international education requirement asks students to broaden their perspectives as they consider global interconnectedness through exploring other cultures, worldviews, and frames of reference. As students fulfill the requirement, they will:
- Apply a holistic approach to global engagement that encompasses intellectual, cultural, and social dimensions as they explore, discover, learn, and grow with others.
- Cultivate cultural competence and humility by examining the importance of understanding, respecting, and valuing difference in building inclusive communities and addressing global challenges collaboratively.
- Reflect on their interactions with individuals and communities from cultural backgrounds different from their own and explain how these cross-cultural experiences have supported their individual personal, academic, and/or professional growth.
Honors College faculty-led study abroad courses are not the only way students meet these goals. Many students complete their International Education (IE) experience by earning academic credit abroad through short-term faculty-led programs offered by departments across campus or through more individualized semester study abroad programs or international internships. Others participate in international Alternative Service Experiences (ASEs) in conjunction with a preparatory 1-hour Honors Independent Study. Still, others fulfill the international education requirement at home through engagement with globally-focused Honors seminars or by incorporating global engagement into their thesis work. Courses meeting the international education requirement are marked with an IE designator in our Honors course descriptions. Students interested in receiving international education credit for their thesis work should write to the Honors College dean in advance of beginning their thesis hours requesting this credit and explaining how the work they propose in their Honors Thesis Application fulfills the three outcomes outlined above.
Students can attend one of the Office of International Education and Development’s Study Abroad 101 workshops to learn more about the many ways they can participate in international experiential learning. The Honors College encourages University Honors students to talk with their faculty mentors regularly about their interest in and plans for international study. Honors students should also work with their mentors to explore the many opportunities available to apply for funding to support those plans. These include the Honors College’s International Education Scholarship, funded by the Ron and Marilyn Mitch Fund for Academic Excellence in the Heltzer Honors Program in International Education, and additional scholarships offered through the Office of International Education and Development as described here. The Office of Nationally Competitive Scholarships also supports students in applying for funding opportunities outside the university such as the Gilman Scholarship, the Fulbright Student Program, the Freeman-ASIA Award, and more (see a full list of supported scholarships).
Stay tuned to the summer Honors Wednesday Memos upcoming on May 29, June 19, and July 24, and the first of the Fall 2024 semester on August 21 to learn about the individual Honors College faculty-led trips from summer 2023. The Honors College looks forward to hearing about and sharing future stories from students traveling on its summer 2024 faculty-led study-abroad trips to Mount Everest Base Camp in Nepal; Ireland and Northern Ireland; Rome, Italy, and Paris, France; and Guatemala.
