Academic Opportunties -- University Wide
Ohio University offers undergraduate students more than 65 institutionally sponsored programs, with study sites located on every continent. The Office of Education Abroad assists in the administration of most Ohio University programs overseas, including registration and billing of participants, maintains a resource library of material and references regarding education abroad opportunities, and through extensive advising, workshops, special sessions, and pre-departure orientations, help to prepare students to undertake an education abroad experience.
Education abroad opportunities for undergraduates include study abroad--the traditional academic route to the overseas experience--which forms the core of education abroad programs. Such programs are generally faculty-led and involve a group of Ohio University students who take Ohio University credit courses abroad. Students receive an orientation on-campus prior to departure and usually travel together to their destination with a faculty program director. About 80 percent of our program participants are enrolled in these programs. In an effort to promote study abroad to students in every major and every academic rank, freshmen to seniors, Ohio University established its first International Study Center, the Ohio-Leipzig European Center, in cooperation with the University of Leipzig, Germany, in 2000.
Another education abroad option is exchange student programs, based on a reciprocal agreement with a host institution abroad. An Ohio University student trades places with a student from the foreign university, generally for a semester or academic year. Exchange student status is awarded to students on a competitive selection basis.
A third education abroad option is international internships, which provide students with practical experience through on-the-job training in their field, while simultaneously giving students the opportunity to experience a different culture and work environment.
Still more opportunities for under-graduate research abroad are being developed, particularly in the sciences. In such programs, students assist faculty members conducting research in a particular discipline through field study and data collection.
Additionally, the service-learning program emphasizes involvement with and/or service to citizens of the host country, an experience often similar to the Peace Corps. Certain types of student teaching, social work, and development-related activities are characteristic of this form of education abroad.
Finally, work and voulnteer options, often offered in the summer, are becoming increasingly popular among undergraduate students.
For more information about these and other opportunities, visit our Web site at https://www.ohio.edu/studyabroad/ or come to the Office of Education Abroad in 107 Gordy Hall, telephone 740-593-4583.
Project-based learning. GLC courses are not traditional classes with lectures, tests, and papers. Instead, students work in project teams on real-world problems and issues. Project-based learning challenges students to determine what they need to know to solve the problem, how they are going to find the information they need, and how they are going to apply it. Project-based learning also changes the role of faculty members; rather than providing the students with specific course content, faculty advise, consult, and provide feedback on all aspects of a project--, andfrom research and analysis to report writing and presentations.
Learning community. The GLC is housed in Bromley Hall. Students enter the GLC in fall quarter of their sophomore or junior year. Sophomores spend their sophomore year in residence; residency is an option for entering juniors and second year GLC students. Faculty join students for meals, cultural events, and other activities. The purpose of the residential plan is to build a living and learning community that combines the professional and social spheres and fosters teamwork; in such a community, students working in teams on projects should come to regard each other as colleagues with a shared mission.
International experiences. Each GLC student completes at least two international and cross-cultural projects. First year GLC students undertake consulting projects, working in bi-national teams with students from an overseas university (the GLC worked in Hungary in 1998, Ecuador in 1999, and the Czech Republic in 2000, and Thailand in 2001). After the first year, students do an internship overseas or complete a second study abroad program.
Students apply for admission in their freshman or sophomore year. All standard financial aid programs apply. Several need-based room scholarships are awarded each year; in 2000, about 25 students received international travel grants.
Plan of study. The program consists of eight projects and an international internship or second study abroad program, taken over two years in the following sequence:
Sophomore YearFall GLC 201, 202 (8 hours)
Winter GLC 203, 204 (8 hours)
Spring GLC 205 (2 hours)
Junior Year
Fall GLC 301 (4 hours)
Winter GLC 302 (4 hours)
Spring GLC 303 (4 hours)
The internship (GLC 400, 0-6 hours) may be taken at any time after the first year in the GLC program. GLC courses count toward specialization or distribution requirements for most majors.
Other requirements. Students are required to demonstrate competency in a modern language to the 213 level (or equivalent) by the time they graduate. Students planning to enter the GLC are advised to take General Education Tier II courses from among the following: ANTH 101, ECON 103, ECON 104, GEOG 131, HIST 131, POLS 150, POLS 250, SOC 101, SOC 201.
For more information, call 740-597-2794, visit our website at https://www.ohio.edu/glc or reach us by e-mail at glc@ohio.edu.
Services offered include providing specific information about scholarships and awards; mentoring and counseling students about their particular situations and candidacies, assisting with the application processes, and organizing seminars and supportive programs for students. Most national awards are merit based and extremely competititve. To be considered viable candidates, students should have at least a 3.7 GPA and be actively involved in both their studies and extracurricular activities.
ONCA is located at 35 Park Place. Call 593-1632 for more information or visit their Web site: https://www.ohio.edu/onca/
University Advancement and Computer Services revised this file (https://www.ohio.edu/catalog/02-03colleges/academic.htm) on September 11, 2002.
Please E-mail comments or suggestions to "ucat@www.ohiou.edu."