Study abroad
“When I got a chance to go to the Vittachi International Conference in Morocco, it was an incredible opportunity. I presented at the conference, got to know students from all over the world, and met many distinguished scholars. The U is a big place, but lots of opportunities to travel can present themselves, even for students without a lot of money.”—Gada Beshir, participated through the Commanding English program
The Learning Abroad Center is the University's comprehensive resource for study, service learning, intern, volunteer, work, and travel experiences worldwide. You can find programs to fulfill general academic requirements or study abroad in your major:
- Business and marketing education
- Elementary education foundations
- Early childhood education foundations
- Family social science
- Human resource development
- Kinesiology
- Leadership (Minor)
- Recreation, park, and leisure studies - see Kinesiology
- Sport management - see Kinesiology
- Youth studies
Other international opportunities and examples
Food and Family Life in Thailand
Professor Cathy Solheim from the department of Family Social Science took 25 students to Thailand for a three-week May Term course. Studies focused on how globalization has impacted the Thai diet, consumption, and family relationships.
Commanding English students present at conference in Morocco
Renata Fitzpatrick, a senior teaching specialist in the commanding English (CE) program in the Department of Postsecondary Teaching and Learning (PSTL), and two of her former CE students, Gada Beshir and Liyun Lin, traveled to Ifrane, Morocco, to present "Crossing another border: Immigrant students at the university: Transformative aspects of the Commanding English program" at the third Vittachi conference of the Guerrand-Hermes Foundation for Peace.
Sport management in Sweden
Why not take a sport management class and go to Sweden to learn about sport in the global marketplace? School of Kinesiology faculty, Jo Buysse and Steve Ross, and 12 undergraduate students met in weekly seminars during a semester which culminated in a two-week trip to Sweden. For the first week of the trip, the group stayed in Vaxjo, a university town in Sweden’s Lake Kingdom. There, the students attended daily seminars with Ross and Buysse, or with faculty from the local university. Time in the classroom was supplemented with attendance at a soccer game, touring a tennis center, and visiting stadiums, all to learn about the cultural aspects of sport. During the second week, the group moved on to Stockholm, where the students had the experience of meeting with planners for the world’s largest all-women’s bike race. They also toured the stadium from the 1912 Olympic Games and visited Sweden’s Olympic training center. Greg Tehven, one of the trip participants, said that a highlight of the class was meeting tennis star Stefan Edberg and “getting to know a group of classmates and experiencing different cultures.” He added that Karl Hakeskog (the former Davis Cup coach of Sweden for more than a decade) gave an outstanding guest lecture to the class. Some students also had a chance encounter with the world’s best female heptathlete, Carolina Kluft, who is a student at Vaxjo University.
International Connections
Every month during fall and spring semesters our faculty and students with international experience offer their expertise at the International Connections talks, free and open to all.
Courses with international content
Even if you don't go abroad, you can take advantage of courses with an international perspective and international content.
Minnesota International Student Association (MISA)
MISA strives to promote cultural awareness and international understanding on the U of M campus and the surrounding community. One of the means by which MISA achieves this objective is by its cultural grant program to promote, advocate, and advance the international students' rights, interests, and privileges in the U.S.
September 2008