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 Joseph Miller, International Faculty Led Programs Coordinator at joseph.miller@pdx.edu.
Call for Proposals: Summer 2012 International Faculty Led Programs. Deadline for receipt of proposals: no later than Monday, November 1, 2011
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 25 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 NEW summer 2011 international faculty led programs. 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 no later than Monday, November 1, 2011. 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.
Please note that a different process and deadline apply for RENEWING Summer 2012 programs. Program faculty for those programs will be contacted separately.
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, Joseph Miller ( ), 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 and deans for all IFL proposals, prior to submission to Education Abroad.
Related Links:
- PSU International Faculty Led Program Handbook:International_Faculty_Led_Program_Handbook_1011.pdf