International Education Week 2020

Join the national celebration of international education & exchange.

PLU International Student Services and the Wang Center for Global and Community Engaged Education invite you to a virtual week of global events and opportunities. International Education Week is an opportunity for the PLU community to learn together and celebrate international education. This national event is a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education to promote programs that prepare U.S students for a global environment and encourage future leaders from other cultures to study and learn in the United States.

At the beginning of this week, applications to study away in 2021-2022 will open. To get the most out of IEW, connect with us on social media and follow our Instagram Stories throughout the week to learn about student experiences, participate in trivia, and more – @wang.center @pluintl

Scroll down for Virtual Study Away Fair content!

This session will provide a very brief overview of fellowship and scholarship opportunities popular with PLU students (including the Fulbright, Marshall, Mitchell, Truman, Humanity in Action, and Udall). Funding options for undergraduate work, graduate school, and teaching English outside the US will all be included. Then, Dr. Nancy Simpson-Younger will answer any questions that participants have about the application process for particular opportunities, using both PLU’s Database of Scholarships and Fellowships and PLU’s Sakai site for students who intend to apply.

If you were unable to join us for this session and are interested in international competitive scholarships or fellowships, reach out to Dr. Simpson-Younger at simpsonl@plu.edu.

Travel the world without leaving your room! Student panelists will share about the unique history, character and culture of different countries. Come to both panel sessions to learn about a new selection of countries.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to upend our lives and the lives of many in our communities and across the globe. This event will feature a panel of professionals from PLU’s Gateway locations who will discuss how COVID-19 has impacted and continues to impact life in their respective communities. Hearing from the panelists will help us compare government structures and responses, economic realities, cultural viewpoints, and more.

 This is an opportunity for students to connect and learn from each other in a dialogue. By sharing a flag that represents their identity, or wearing culturally significant or meaningful clothing or regalia, students have a chance to show off and be proud of their heritage and culture. All students and faculty are welcome to speak, or just be there to ask respectful questions and learn.

Considering study away? Start by watching this webinar on Gateway semester study away to learn about your options!

While studying away in Africa as a Gilman Scholar, Elizabeth Larios ’21 utilized her musical experience to create a bridge between American and Namibian culture. This gave rise to a cultural, musical, and leadership exchange program between the Sunshine Private School in Namibia and PLU. Within weeks of arriving at the University of Namibia (UNAM) Elizabeth immersed herself in the culture through her music and dance class. She learned about the history of traditional African music, how to play Mbuira and sang in the UNAM Choir. Subsequently, Elizabeth acquired a volunteer position teaching music as a form of self expression and empowerment to the Sunshine Private School all-girl marimba band. She was able to form a connection with the students through their mutual love of music and create musical exchange of instruments and culturally significant compositions. As a result, the PLU percussion studio will perform these traditional African pieces at their virtual concert and continue to cultivate this relationship.

Are you working on your applications (jobs, graduate school, etc.) and unsure of how to articulate your study away experiences in a meaningful way? Studying away provides students with attributes that can be applied in many aspects of life. The Wang Center has developed a workshop to help students identify knowledge, skills, and attitudes developed or strengthened through study away, and then articulate these competencies for professional purposes.

You will need:

• Something to write notes on
• University of the Pacific’s list of “75 Long-Term Outcomes“
• Key Attributes Employers want to See on Students’ Resumes
• “Connect Study Away to Your Career” Worksheet

Additional Helpful Resources:

• PLU Alumni & Student Connections resources
• AIFS Student Guide

Let’s celebrate the diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds that exist in our community! In this collection of pre-recorded videos, students share the origin, meaning, and correct pronunciation of their names

Peace Corps Prep (PC Prep) is an undergraduate certificate program that helps students prepare for service in the Peace Corps, a US-government organization that sends US citizens abroad to volunteer for two-years in over 60 countries. The PC Prep Program is also an exciting chance to help you develop a global perspective and connect with like-minded students. Obtaining the certificate will also help prepare you for other international and domestic service, as well as nonprofit and service-oriented professions.

For the third year in a row, PLU is one of the top 25 producers of Peace Corps Volunteers in schools of our size, and number four overall as a top Peace Corps Prep certificate-issuing institution!

Learn the ins and outs of study away at PLU from the Wang Center’s Global Ambassadors

• Gain an in-depth understanding of Trinbagonian culture through a required set of three PLU-designed courses taught by local professors, local experts and US professors
• Examine key issues such as post-colonialism, globalization, diversity, equity, social justice, gender and environmental sustainability in a rich, ethnically diverse culture
• Study at University of the West Indies, a major research institution in the Caribbean, and engage with local students
• Engage with the rich cultural, environmental, religious and artistic diversity of Trinidad & Tobago through a series of study tours and lectures that facilitate student participation in Trinidad’s expressions of the Hindu spring festival of Phagwa, the West African Orish and Shouter Baptist festivals, the Muslim Hosay commemoration, and the world famous Trinidad Carnival
• Experience the traditional fishing village of Charlotteville, Tobago, as it explores new directions in organic gardening, marine research, and sustainable tourism

• Explore Mexican history, development, society and environment through an interdisciplinary view of Ancient, Modern, and Contemporary Mexico
• Learn about U.S.-Mexico relations and gain an in-depth perspective of Mexican immigration to — and the hispanization of — the United States
• Experience approaches to, and strategies for, social change, and the value placed on these processes by diverse groups in the Oaxaca region and across Mexico
• Integrate academic knowledge and intercultural skills in an internship with a local nonprofit organization focused on an issue related to your academic, personal or professional goals
• Build knowledge of pressing issues facing Mexico today through extended study tours to Mexico City and the states of Puebla and Morelos
• Increase Spanish proficiency to advanced, advanced plus or superior through a complete immersion program

• Study at Sichuan University, one of China’s most prestigious universities, with students from all over China and the world
• Develop your Chinese language abilities with courses available at all levels
• Engage with local communities through study tours to rural farms, local villages and nearby monuments
• Deepen your understanding of the various cultures of China through study tours to the Forbidden City, the Great Wall in Beijing, and Xian, whose famous Terracotta Warriors and Wild Goose Pagoda are reminders of China’s prominence in the world as the eastern terminus of the Silk Road
• Experience Tibetan culture with a week-long study tour exploring Buddhist temples and shrines, contrasting with China’s ethnic Han majority

• Study at the premier University of Namibia alongside students from Namibia and countries across Africa and the globe
• Engage in a practicum in a local school and complete a robust set of courses aligned with PLU’s program requirements (Education students)
• Learn about this young democratic country with a focus on a historical perspective of Namibia from colonization to democracy
• Engage with indigenous people, cultures, and the country’s unique geography on study tours, through rural homestays in the villages of northern Namibia and visits to Namibia’s renowned national parks and game reserves
• Create your own batik art in a 3-day workshop in Windhoek
• Engage with the local community through an internship or volunteer work with community organizations
• Spend January enrolled in a context-setting, intensive course on non-Western history taught by a local Namibia historian

• Experience the “Oxford tutorial” — weekly one-on-one sessions with Oxford faculty and graduate students, aimed at bringing forth the students’ own powers of judgment, thought, and argumentation e Learn to “read” the United Kingdom through the disciplinary lens of the semester’s Site Director — a PLU-IHON faculty member who will teach a place-based 200-level seminar and lead you on study tours in London, Manchester and other sites
• Apply what you’re reading and learning to your own experiences in the 4-credit, discussion-based “Living and Learning in Oxford” course, also led by the PLU Site Director
• Become an Associate Member of an Oxford college with dining and other privileges in the college
• Take part in induction into the world-renowned Bodleian research library, including more than 20 Oxford branches, where you have full research access and reading privileges
• Complete two of your 200-level IHON seminars — one in the form of an interdisciplinary tutorial with Oxford faculty and graduate students, the other with the PLU Site Director

In Fall 2021 and Spring 2022, there will be an opportunity for a small number of non-IHON students who are a good fit for the program to study in Oxford. Get in touch with Dr. Strum to learn more!

• Challenge the perception of the “sameness” of Western societies by experiencing the rapidly changing Norwegian culture and society and Norway’s active engagement in defining and redefining its roles internationally and within its borders
• Examine the Norwegian approach to contemporary issues in a central location with engaged faculty whose specialties include Peace and Conflict Studies, African Studies, International Relations, Middle East Studies, Polital Theory and more
• Study in English alongside Norwegians majoring in Peace & Conflict and International Studies
• Immerse yourself in Norwegian culture, history, geography, society, and politics with the “Norway—An Introduction” course (not for credit) that includes excursions in and around Oslo

University of Southeastern Norway

Study in Bø:

• Engage in an active campus community at the University of Southeastern Norway and experience the local natural landscape as an extension of classroom learning
• Live and learn in an environment that challenges cultural assumptions and helps you to see your discipline and the world through a Norwegian lens
• Explore Telemark, a region known as “Norway in miniature” and known for its rich cultural tradition and outdoor life
• Focus on Environmental Studies, Natural Sciences, Marketing and Management, Business, Kinesiology, or Norwegian Language and Literature

Study Kinesiology in Vestfold:

• Engage in an active campus community at the University of Southeastern Norway and experience the local natural landscape as an extension of classroom learning
• Focus on Kinesiology in the Exercise and Health Management program
• Examine the Norwegian health system and work life and social laws regulating health and sick leave through project management development and apprenticeship
• Live and learn in an environment that challenges cultural assumptions and helps you to see your discipline and the world through a Norwegian lens
• Put theoretical components into practice at the Vestfold campus’ stunning gym and pool facilities or in the stunning natural setting with numerous outdoor recreation options

“Not Your Ordinary Study Abroad.” Experiential hands-on learning, homestays, language learning, finish with an independent research project or an internship. Focused around a program theme.

Featured SIT Programs Include:

• Rwanda – Post-Genocide Restoration and Peace Building
• Morocco – Field Studies in Journalism and New Media
• Morocco – Migration and Transnational Identity
• Morocco – Multiculturalism and Human Rights
• India – Public Health, Gender and Community Action
• India – Sustainable Development and Social Change
• Indonesia – Arts, Religion, and Social Change
• Mongolia – Nomadism, Geopolitics and the Environment
• Nepal – Development, Gender and Social Change
• Nepal – Tibetan and Himalayan Peoples
• Vietnam – Culture, Social Change, and Development
• Serbia – Serbia, Bosnia, and Kosovo: Peace and Conflict Studies in the Balkans

Course options in STEM disciplines, indigenous studies, humanities, social sciences and much more

Course options in STEM disciplines, humanities, social sciences and more. 

Course options in humanities and social sciences, STEM/natural sciences and more

Course options in humanities, Greek, Archaeology, Classics, internship opportunities

Course options in humanities, English, theatre, fantastic internship opportunities

Choose between a language immersion track (Language & Area Studies) or one of two English-based academic tracks (Metropolitan and Urban Studies / Security Studies and International Affairs)

Study music performance, history and more, variety of elective options

Study music performance, history, and more, and take a German class, variety of elective options / Choose from a variety of psychology courses and elective options

Language immersion French Honors program / English-based academic tracks in Art – Business and Intl. Relations – Humanities & Social Sciences, French class required

This is a great fit for adventurous students interested in science and the environment. ENVT majors can choose the Sustainability & the Environment academic track, and the Tropical Ecology & Conservation track is designed for Biology students

Spanish language and cultural immersion program, homestay, various excursions around Spain

Course offerings in STEM disciplines, humanities, social sciences and more. Great course options for Political Science and Global Studies students.