As an integral component of UNC's strategy of internationalization, the Study Abroad Office provides access to a wide portfolio of educational opportunities that reflect and support the intellectual, financial and cultural needs of our diverse student body. Participation in a study abroad program encourages the exchange of knowledge and understanding, and promotes enlightened and responsible citizenship and leadership for our state and nation.
Providing such access is achieved in the following ways: by establishing and administering programs with UNC faculty in collaboration with other academic units on campus, by coordinating student exchange agreements with appropriate foreign universities, and by working in partnerships with foreign universities and study abroad organizations. Each program is expected to meet UNC's high academic standards and to integrate into the university's curriculum. To these ends, the Office assumes responsibility for providing the following:
A highly professional student advising service
Expert assistance to faculty in the design and administration of study abroad programs
Thorough orientation for study abroad students
Coordination among relevant academic and administrative units on and off campus.
All study abroad programs are approved by the Study Abroad Advisory Committee. This faculty committee, inter alia, reviews all new study abroad initiatives and reports its conclusions to the Administrative Board of the College of Arts and Sciences. The Administrative Board evaluates the academic content of study abroad programs and makes the final decision on whether or not students may receive UNC academic credit for them.
Study abroad is an integral part of higher education. Study abroad diversifies and broadens liberal education in ways not possible to realize on the home campus. By offering students the chance to live and to study in a foreign setting, study abroad extends their intellectual horizons and encourages them to become more self-reliant, empathetic, and sensitive to other cultures. Such experiences have the potential to make students more open, thoughtful and competitive in an increasingly global and cosmopolitan world.
