International Education Week begins today and runs through Wednesday, Nov. 14. During this week the privilege of students studying abroad around the world is celebrated.
Like many other colleges and universities all over the world, ETSU sponsors students in exchange programs and welcomes exchange students from a variety of different countries.
Maria Costa, director of International Programs and Services, Rebecca A. Pyles, dean of the Honors College, Rebecca A. Pyles, and Linda Wyatt, project manager of the Honors College, worked together to provide more information on the university’s involvement in exchange programs.
ETSU is a member of the International Student Exchange Program or ISEP. During the fall, spring and summer semesters of any given year there are students coming to ETSU from other countries as well as ETSU students studying abroad in foreign locations.
When a student participates in ISEP, they are enrolling at an international university and transferring courses back to ETSU.
Last spring, 12 students from ETSU participated in ISEP.
This summer 50 ETSU students represented this university in countries like Italy, Spain, China and Scotland. Additional countries that students have traveled to in 2007 are Brazil, Norway, Poland, Hungary, Ghana, France and Amsterdam.
Today ETSU hosts 317 students around the world who have chosen to take part in ISEP. Of those 317,161 are taking part in undergraduate programs while 156 are seeking graduate degrees. Together, these students represent 61 different countries.
For students from this university traveling and living in other countries, those involved in ISEP hope for a range of experience when studying outside of their native country.
For students hosted here the biggest concern of the university is to get them quality education for their time spent at ETSU. Exchange students are encouraged to participate in campus life as much as possible and to experience the culture of Tennessee and the United States. Many foreign students enjoy traveling within the U.S. – California and Washington, D.C., are popular places to visit.
It may be easier than many students think to enroll in ISEP. Students do not have to be enrolled in a specific major in order to study abroad. All programs of the organization require that students participating do have a degree path. A minimum GPA of 2.75 is often required. Select programs may focus more on certain fields to benefit the kind of studying the student will be taking part in.
Thanks to the International Education Scholarship, 27 scholarships have been given to students who will study abroad in 2008.
Pyles added that she and Costa are co-chairing a committee called the International Education Steering Committee which is “developing a broad plan to promote and integrate international education into all of our programs at ETSU.”
“Work is progressing, and we hope to have a ‘master’ plan to recommend to the university community sometime next spring,” said Pyles.
For more information on IEW visit http://www.etsu.edu/honors/iew.asp or http://iew.state.gov/.

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