Albright College Global Scholars Program

The Albright College Global Scholars Program (GSP) is designed to provide an immersive first-year experience to a select cohort of first year Albrightians.  The global scholars program seeks to:

• • Prepare select students to engage in the world as global citizens
  • Develop intercultural competency
  • Cultivate intercultural communication skills
  • Understand current global issues from a historical, interdisciplinary and intercultural perspective
  • Become active agents for social change
  • Foster leaderships skills needed in a globalized world
  • Develop a global perspective that can be applied to their choice of major
  • Provide students who have been historically underrepresented in college with an opportunity to engage in multiple high impact educational practices with the goal of expanding student success.

Accepted students will join a small cohort and engage in a living learning community throughout their first year.  The cohort will take a series of courses together in the Fall and Spring semesters, and engage in an immersive, study away, experience[1] during the Interim semester, at no additional charge beyond tuition, room and board (passport cost and spending money is not included).  Students will also engage in experiential learning projects throughout the year, both in the community surrounding Albright and in the Study Away destination.   Cohort students will be housed together in their first year of residential living.  An extensive orientation program will be offered in advance of Albright’s first-year orientation.  The cohort model will be extended to the faculty in the program as well.  Students will learn from a small cohort of faculty during their first year, thereby providing them with the opportunity to be mentored by engaging faculty from various disciplines.

In their second year, GSP participants will have the opportunity to gain employment on campus as part of the Global Scholars Ambassador initiative.

The Global Scholars Program seeks to decolonize the study abroad experience by providing opportunity for all students, with emphasis on students who are traditionally underrepresented in study abroad programs.  Students of color, first-generation students, and students with high financial need are especially encouraged to apply for this program.

[1] The immersive, study away experience may be either domestic or international in nature and under certain circumstances (e.g. COVID restrictions) may be online in nature.  All immersive experiences will be approved by the Albright College Study Abroad Advisory Committee.

Fall Semester:

• • FYS-Becoming a Global Scholar
  • ENG 101
  • Foreign Language (Spanish for 2023-2024)
  • 4^th course (outside of cohort)

Interim:

• • Study Away Course (location varies by year-Ecuador for 2023-2024)

Spring:

• • Global Scholars Course (Social Problems for 2022-2023)
  • ENG 102
  • Foreign Language (Spanish for 2023-2024)
  • 4^th course (outside of cohort)

Possible Study Away Locations:

• • Ecuador
  • Costa Rica
  • Ghana
  • Mexico
  • France
  • Spain
• The 2023-2024 academic year will feature a study abroad experience in South America.  Cuenca, Ecuador will serve as the base for students in the cohort.  Students will live with a host family for 2-3 weeks, while taking a comparative cultures course with faculty from their Fall and Spring courses.

Global Scholars Program Administrators:

Kim Justeson Director of Experiential Learning

Brian Jennings, PhD Associate Professor of Sociology and Environmental Studies

2022-2023 Faculty/Staff Cohort:

Lennie Amores, PhD Assistant Professor of Spanish	Brian Jennings, PhD Associate Professor of Sociology and Environmental Studies
C Dylan Bassett, PhD Assistant Professor of English	Jason Deitz, MBA Student Support Specialist
Adam, John, PhD Associate Professor of French and Spanish

Affiliated Faculty:

Kami Fletcher, PhD Associate Professor of History	Robert Paul Seesengood, M.Div, PhD Assoc. Dean of First-Year and General Education, Professor of Religious Studies
Beth Kiester, PhD Associate Professor of Sociology	Lesley Goodman, PhD Associate Professor of English
Arcana Albright, PhD Associate Professor of French