Faculty Scholarly Dissemination Grants
Study abroad for graduate students enrolled in US-based academic programs: Experiences, issues, and best practices
Department
School of Public, Nonprofit & Health Administration
College
College of Community and Public Service
Date Range
2012-2013
Disciplines
Education | Medicine and Health Sciences
Abstract
The study of nongovernmental organizations have become popular to students enrolled in US based nonprofit academic programs. Students often choose programs that allow them to study abroad and interact with NGO's on almost every continent. These study abroad experiences can last from one-week service-learning type projects to one-year country immersion programs. This panel explores the pros and cons of providing study abroad opportunities for graduate students enrolled in US-based academic programs. Faculty and administrators from three different US based academic programs and universities will present about their experiences in the hopes to learn from one another and establish best practices for creating, maintaining, and growing study abroad opportunities for students and local NGOs. Panelists represent programs that are at different stages in the study abroad process from established to newly created. My paper: Grand Valley State University (GVSU) has a long history of providing study abroad courses for students, and research shows that students who participate in study abroad programs increase their global awareness, their GPA, and philanthropic efforts. It is unclear to what extent study abroad courses are offered for graduate students and which best practices are most beneficial to short-term graduate student study abroad course offerings. The paper/presentation will report on six study abroad opportunities currently being offered at GVSU that were identified because they have a service-learning/community engagement component, how these study abroad opportunities were created, administered and evaluated, and how best practices can be shared across course offerings for graduate students.
Conference Name
10th International Conference of ISTR
Conference Location
Siena, Italy
ScholarWorks Citation
Carpenter, Heather, "Study abroad for graduate students enrolled in US-based academic programs: Experiences, issues, and best practices" (2013). Faculty Scholarly Dissemination Grants. 1243.
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/fsdg/1243
