New Education Abroad program development is a multi-step process that includes formulating learning goals, designing the new program and proposing it. This page provides information and tools that can be helpful as you begin to think about developing a new EA program.
Note: most successful program leaders start working on program development 18 to 24 months before taking students abroad. Before you invest too much time and effort, it is a good idea to talk about your program idea to both your department chair and your college’s representative on the Advisory Council for Education Abroad. Education Abroad staff are also available to provide feedback early in the development process.
Click on any of the following tabs to learn more about the different components of new program ideation:
Given the rationale for and contexts of education abroad programming, it is important to consider academic as well as non-academic learning outcomes. In addition to academic outcomes, program directors should consider what they hope to achieve in terms of students' intercultural, interpersonal, personal, and/or professional learning and development. Program directors must also take into account and abide by the MSU Code of Teaching Responsibility.
Prospective program directors are encouraged to talk about desirable learning outcomes with experienced colleagues as well as with colleagues in Education Abroad.
As evidenced in research on learning abroad1, students learn differently when taught the same subject matter on campus as compared to in an education abroad situation. How will this course overseas be different from the same course taught in East Lansing?
This also reflects MSU's Undergraduate Learning and Global Competency Goals by contextualizing them within education abroad. This is a work in progress and is intended to expand and change as our thinking about student learning on education abroad evolves.
Education abroad can...
Students can develop personally by...
Study abroad programs can…
Our students’ international learning experiences add value to the on-campus experience by…
While skills including the ability to deal with ambiguity, be flexible, and take the perspective of a culturally different person, cut across the other three categories of student learning, they also warrant separate treatment as central to learning through education abroad.
Education abroad programs can facilitate intercultural learning by…
References
(1) Sutton, R., & Rubin, D. (2004). The GLOSSARI Project: Initial Findings from a System-Wide Research Initiative on Study Abroad Learning Outcomes. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 10, 65-82.
Sutton, R. S., & Rubin, D. L. (2010). Documenting the academic impact of study abroad: Final report of the GLOSSARI project. Paper presented at the annual meeting of NAFSA: International Education Association. Kansas City.
Take time to review MSU's Undergraduate Learning and Global Competency Goals.
The Forum on Education Abroad provides a series of Standards of Good Practice and other useful resources.
Under development. Please check back soon.
Maybe you already know exactly what kind of program you would like to develop. Maybe you are just beginning to think about a new program. Either way, we have put together some information designed to assist you with kick-starting your thinking about a new program or with fine-tuning your existing ideas for a new program.
MSU faculty teach MSU courses at academically suitable locations abroad. Mostly designed for MSU students, but some programs accept students from other universities. Programs range in length from one to eight weeks and take place during spring break, winter break, and summer sessions I and II.
Some faculty opt for embedded programming, defined by the Forum for Education Abroad as "a short study abroad experience that forms an integral part of, or an optional add-on to, a course given on the home campus".
Most commonly, the study abroad portion of the course takes place during a midterm break or after the end of the on-campus term and is just a week or two long.
Students directly enroll in an international partner university (usually for a semester).
Consists of a direct-enroll program for outbound MSU students and a direct-enroll program at MSU for students from the exchange partner institution. In addition to the program proposal outlining the learning experience for outbound MSU students, exchange programs also require a general MOU between MSU and the international partner institution as well as an exchange agreement that spells out the terms of the exchange.
Most providers offer stand-alone (catalog) programs operated fully by the provider and various levels of customization based on your programming ideas. While some providers offer service around the globe, others focus on specific regions of the world.
Here is a current list of MSU-approved providers:
You may of course work with other providers on an ad hoc basis; however, we ask that you check with our office to learn whether we have any previous experience or insights about them, and to help you vet them.
Programs that are primarily classroom-based; often will include excursions.
A type of experiential education that combines and pursues academic learning through addressing assets and needs within a community outside the U.S., and meeting a relevant community-defined need through ethical collaboration. Situated in a global context, the service-learning program employs structured, critically reflective practices that facilitate and support better understanding of common human dignity; self; culture; positionality; socio-economic, political, and environmental issues; power relations; and social responsibility, all in a global context.
At MSU, broadly defined, undergraduate research includes scholarly, creative, and artistic activities that lead to new knowledge, improve problem solving capabilities, offer original or historical theory and interpretation, and/or produce art or creative performances. Read more about MSU's definition of undergraduate research.
Working with program providers, MSU connects students with a variety of established internships in multiple disciplines and destinations. Read more about MSU's internship programs.
The program sketch is a way to document your initial idea for a new program. It allows you to let people know about your program idea before you invest a lot of time and energy into a project that your department and/or college may not support. Be sure to initially discuss your program idea with (1) your department chair, (2) your college’s liaison to the Office for Education Abroad, and (3) the associate director of the Office for Education Abroad.
As you develop your ideas, tap into the expertise of those around you, such as experienced program leaders, your departmental and college colleagues, area studies staff, and, of course, the Education Abroad team. Please let us know about your program idea and we can help connect you to people and resources.
Note that most successful program leaders start working on program development 18 to 24 months before taking students abroad.
Here are the topics you should address in your program sketch. Put to paper what you know at this point and don't worry about the details you haven't worked out yet. This step is to help you connect with resources to support your efforts.
What learning outcomes do you want to achieve through the program (academic, cultural, personal and professional student development, etc.)?
What is the academic content of this course? What courses will be taught on-site (MSU courses or host institution courses)?
Do you intend to integrate community engagement, service learning, internships and/or field research for credit?
How will this study abroad program enhance the value of students' degrees?
What, if any, experience and possible contacts do you have in the intended host region/country?
What is your level of proficiency in the host country language?
Which student population are you targeting (majors, class standing, etc.)?
How is the chosen location relevant to the stated learning goals? How does the academic content relate to the chosen country/location?
How are the proposed timing and duration of the program conducive to achieving the stated learning outcomes?
How do the program's learning goals support college/department strategies for education abroad?
Does the program contribute to your own and/or your department's research agenda?
What other MSU study abroad programs already exist in the region and in the proposed subject matter area?
The Statement of Responsibility for Faculty-Directed Education Abroad Program Directors outlines expectations for the role of program director and compiles previously dispersed items together into one comprehensive document. It is designed to support program directors by providing a chronological overview of activities associated with leading a program (pre-departure, on-site, and post-return). The Statement of Responsibility is best used as a companion document to Education Abroad’s Guiding Principles and the information you will find in the online Guide to MSU Education Abroad Programming.
Site Visit Grants, offered by the Office for Education Abroad (EA), are available to MSU faculty and administrators in support of:
The grants provide partial funding for one traveler for a maximum of 10 days. EA provides funding for 50% of the estimated travel cost, up to a maximum $2,000 per site visit. The remaining travel expenses must be covered by the academic unit(s) that are expressing support of the proposed site visit.
Site Visit Grant applications are accepted year-round until all grants have been awarded (20 per year).
Application materials and process
To apply, applicants must submit the following three items.
To be considered, applications must be received at least one month prior to intended travel and include all three items to be considered. Every effort will be made to keep the turn-around time to no more than a week.
Application materials should be emailed to EA Executive Assistant to the Director or sent via campus mail to:
Dr. Inge Steglitz, Associate Director
Office for Education Abroad
427 N. Shaw Lane, Room 109
International Center
Feel free to contact Dr. Steglitz with any questions.
2023 CALL FOR PROPOSALS
Michigan State University has a long history of successful faculty-directed education abroad programming dating back to the 1950s. In an era of Flat Rate Tuition implementation and increased pressure for students to complete their degree in four years, an opportunity exists for MSU to re-envision faculty-directed programming.
Through the new Faculty-Directed Education Abroad Program Innovation Fund, the Office for Education Abroad will provide up to $5,000 for faculty-directed programming that delivers high-quality experiences at affordable costs while facilitating students’ academic degree completion.
The funds will support the development of unique, new faculty-directed education abroad programs or the significant revision/redevelopment of existing faculty-directed programs. Travel to examine a site’s suitability for an innovative program, attendance at a relevant conference to explore creative ideas, implementation of new technologies, etc. will be considered appropriate uses of these funds.
Proposals will be accepted until August 1, 2023.
A maximum of five (5) program development grants will be awarded annually.
Contact the Executive Director of the Office for Education Abroad with questions.
Program proposals should include the following:
Completed proposals must be emailed to the Assistant to the Executive Director of Education Abroad and clearly indicate that the application is for the Faculty-Directed Education Abroad Program Innovation Fund initiative.
The proposal deadline is August 1, 2023.
A committee with broad cross-college and cross-unit representation will review proposals and focus specifically on those that:
In his article "The role of faculty study abroad directors: a case study" (Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, Vol. 15, Winter 2007, pp. 149-172), Goode concludes that education abroad directors, in addition to their familiar academic role, also take on responsibilities not usually encountered while teaching on campus. Examples of additional responsibilities are
As Steglitz, Roy and Akulli write, "(j)ust as most newly-minted faculty have not been trained as teaching and learning experts, so have many program directors not been trained in how to facilitate EA programs. EA program leadership vastly expands the traditional on-campus role(s) and teaching experience of prospective program directors. (…). Teaching and learning in EA take place in contexts with many variables that are not encountered in the traditional classroom. Program directors enter environments in which they engage students as whole beings (head, heart, and hands) and across their various ways of learning and being in the world--and do so more or less 24/7. In addition, within the EA context, learning occurs before, during, and after the on-site experience, taking place in settings ranging from curricular/academic to co-curricular and extracurricular/social." (Steglitz, I., Roy, P., and Akulli, A. (2017). Preparing Program Directors. In: L. Chieffo and C. Spaeth (Eds.) The Guide to Successful Short-term Programs Abroad (3rd edition). Washington, D.C.: NAFSA: Association of International Educators, pp. 273-286)
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