International Programs and Studies:
Changing the World One Student at a Time
Rachel Sauer, an undergraduate in political science, awakens in the coastal city of Dakar, the capital of Senegal in West Africa. After sharing a breakfast of instant coffee and leftover goat stew with her host family, she heads to a Dakar office, where she works with a human rights organization on issues of non-formal education and sustainable development. Specifically interested in women’s rights, Rachel’s experience in Senegal has fired her desire to pursue a career in human rights and international law.
Like thousands of students before her, Rachel has, through International Programs and Studies, explored the world around her and the potential within her. Assistance from a privately endowed scholarship for study abroad was critical in getting her there.
Today, students enjoy unprecedented opportunities to expand their horizons at the University of Illinois. On campus, they can study over 37 languages and they can meet fellow students from over 121 countries. Off campus, they can study everything from engineering to agronomy to architecture in one of over 200 study abroad programs in 57 countries.
Illinois faculty work with colleagues around the globe on projects in myriad fields of inquiry. In addition, seven National Resource Centers representing every continent (and another that focuses on international business education and research) operate on campus. These cross-disciplinary centers bring together faculty from many colleges to address issues of global impact through their teaching and research.
It should be no surprise that Illinois is the only U.S. institution of higher education ranked in the top 10 in the three key metrics of international education: international student enrollment, total number of study abroad students, and the number of federally-funded Title VI National Resource Centers for international and area studies.
Illinois is part of an increasingly global civilization. International Programs and Studies (IPS) is the campus unit that organizes engagement with the global community. At IPS, we are committed to providing students and faculty the services, facilities, and programs they need to expand their horizons—and ours —by investigating and experiencing this global civilization in all its multifaceted complexity.
Whether it is working with a Chinese state bank to offer executive leadership training to bankers, organizing campus symposia on the international inter-sections of technology and government policy, or providing a deserving student with a scholarship to study in Ecuador for a year, generous private support helps do all this and more.
Be part of this critical work at Illinois as we work toward our $12M goal.
Be part of a brilliant future.