International Faculty Led Programs
Portland State University currently offers about 30 short-term international faculty led (IFL) programs each year, and that number is growing rapidly. As the name implies, during these programs, PSU faculty lead and teach groups of students in an international location.
IFL programs offer exceptional opportunities for both faculty and students to study and learn in situ, and to bring that learning and experience back to their teaching and coursework here on campus. Program models and topics typically run the gamut from art and architecture study in Europe to scientific observation and research data collection in a marine ecosystem in Belize.
Typically, faculty-led programs are developed by faculty who have international teaching and research interests, as well as strong local knowledge and contacts abroad. However, faculty may also propose and develop programs in areas where they may have strong topical expertise but less logistical knowledge or fewer contacts. In these cases, Education Abroad can work with faculty to identify and contract with third-party service providers who can build on-site structures to meet the program’s academic goals and needs.
For more information, please contact Todd Waddell, International Faculty Led Programs Coordinator at waddellt@pdx.edu.
Call for Proposals: Summer 2010 International Faculty Led Programs. Preferred deadline for receipt of proposals: Friday, December 18, 2009.
International faculty led programs (IFLP) provide an increasingly popular way for PSU faculty and students to enhance their global awareness and cross-cultural understanding in teaching, learning and research. Last year, the university offered 30 international faculty led programs in the humanities and in the sciences, in diverse locations from Spain to India to Ghana. Today, almost 50% of PSU students studying abroad do so through PSU faculty led programs.
The Office of Education Abroad is issuing a formal call for proposals for summer 2010 international faculty led programs. About 80% of our IFL programs run during the summer term. In order to ensure adequate time for proposal review and approval, program outreach, student selection, and pre-departure planning, we strongly encourage faculty to submit proposals to Education Abroad by Friday, December 18, 2009. Education Abroad will review proposals submitted after December 18, however proposals for particularly complex programs may be tabled if there is inadequate time to properly coordinate program contracts, payments and logistics. Faculty should also be aware that late submissions, if approved, will have less time for essential program outreach activities which may result in cancelation due to low enrollments.
In order to support and enhance these programs for faculty and students, the Office of Education Abroad has developed the attached International Faculty Led Program Handbook. This handbook is designed to be a comprehensive living document detailing IFLP concepts and practices to assist faculty at every stage of program development from concept to proposal, approval, pre-departure and operations. Please distribute this handbook widely throughout your unit and to any university faculty who may wish to consider developing an international program.
Interested faculty may contact Education Abroad’s faculty led program coordinator, Todd Waddell ( ), to brainstorm or discuss program concepts and feasibility or to request MSWord and MSExcel versions of the program proposal and budget templates.
Please note:
Faculty are required to receive approval from their department chairs for all IFL proposals, prior to submission to Education Abroad. After approval, Education Abroad will forward copies of these proposals to deans and directors for their information.
Faculty seeking to teach IFL programs in-load or through a course waiver must receive approval from the dean of their school or college before submission to Education Abroad.
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