Integrating Study Abroad into the Curriculum: Theory and Practice Across the Disciplines

"How can colleges and universities take the immense potential of study abroad and integrate what students are learning and experiencing abroad into the wider curriculum on the home campus? This is the central question Elizabeth Brewer and Kiran Cunningham address in their timely edited volume. Especially now, when greater numbers of institutions of higher education are searching for ways to internationalize their profile and offerings, this book presents a wide range of strategies aimed at effectively integrating the benefits of time spent abroad with developments in the home campus curriculum. Drawing on a wealth of study abroad experience, this book focuses on the intentional integration of students’ educational and personal experiences abroad for transformational learning and development at home."―Comparative Education Review

To achieve the goal of engendering intercultural competence and intellectual development, this book proposes two strategies: structure study abroad to bridge the separation of academic learning from experiential and intercultural learning; and integrate study abroad with the undergraduate curriculum.

This book opens with two chapters presenting different theoretical perspectives relevant to the integration of study abroad into the curriculum. The following nine chapters provide examples from a variety of disciplines and within such contexts as distance learning, service learning, and the senior thesis. The concluding chapter considers faculty development activities and institutional structures and policies that support curriculum integration.

Elizabeth Brewer is Director, International Education, at Beloit College.

Kiran Cunningham is Professor of Anthropology at Kalamazoo College.

Madeleine F. Green is Vice President for International Initiatives at the American Council on Education