COAS Faculty-Led Study Abroad Programs

A Flagship Faculty-Led Study Abroad Program is ideal for faculty members who want to develop a new education abroad program where they are the instructors and program leaders. It can enhance the international offerings within a particular academic department, can support the internationalization strategic goals of COAS, and can allow for a student to gain valuable education abroad experience within the academic structure of a COAS course. The Flagship Faculty-Led Study Abroad Program is offered as a component or supplement to a full semester-long academic course taught at Howard University. The international component is typically scheduled during a semester break (7-14 days during winter break, spring break, maymester; the Flagship Faculty-Led Study Abroad Program can last longer if planned during the summer term(s). The faculty leader assumes responsibility for the development, proposal, implementation, and execution of the course – including the academic content, travel logistics, international site visits and activities, budgeting and payments, and health and safety of program participants. There are several support resources to help the faculty leader throughout the entire process. Faculty members organizing a Flagship Faculty-Led Study Abroad Program must submit a proposal to the Office of Academic Student Affairs for review.

The College of Arts and Sciences developed an umbrella “[Department Subject Prefix] 890: Study Abroad” course for all its academic units. With this academic structure, once a Faculty-Led study abroad proposal is approved, the faculty-lead (program director) will be able to create a section under the umbrella course (for instance: “POLS 890 Study Abroad: Human Rights in Argentina.” A minimum of 3 credit hours is required for each faculty-led study abroad course. Faculty-led study abroad courses taking place in the summer term(s) can offer up to 12 credit hours. The study abroad course runs for an entire semester (like a regular COAS course) and the international trip is embedded into the course’s curriculum.

The international travel component of a Flagship Faculty-Led Study Abroad program is built/embedded into a residentially taught COAS course so that most of the instruction happens before and after the travel experience. Note that this faculty-led embedded abroad program can be offered through an in-person or hybrid teaching modality at Howard. For instance, SOCI 890_01: Social Justice in Barbados is offered during the spring semester with a study abroad experience taking place during spring break. All study abroad courses must comply to Middle States contact hours. Because the study abroad course is part of the faculty’s course load, faculty members will discuss their teaching load and study abroad course with their Department Chair (and department’s curriculum committee, if applicable). Once they secure their Department Chair’s pre-approval, they will work with the COAS Office of Academic Student Affairs to plan their project. The COAS Office of the Dean will complete the final approval of proposals (that were successfully reviewed) and will work with other units on campus to add the course sections to the HU dynamic schedule (inclusive of all the specifics of the study trip, such as the students’ registration and program fees).

The Flagship Faculty-Led Study Abroad Program is offered as a component or supplement to a full semester-long academic course taught at Howard University. The international component is typically scheduled during a semester break (7-14 days during winter break, spring break, maymester; the Flagship Faculty-Led Study Abroad Program can last longer if planned during the summer term(s).

A Flagship Faculty-Led Summer Study Abroad Program is a single course or compilation of courses related to a theme or topic, where the COAS faculty leaders deliver all or nearly all academic content during the international experience. These programs occur during the summer term(s). Faculty-led Flagship Summer Abroad Programs can be planned in such a way where the education abroad experience crosses over semester dates from summer session one and/or summer session two.

The College of Arts and Sciences offers funding to COAS Faculty to support the development of a new Flagship Faculty-Led Study Abroad Programs. Please contact the Office of Academic Student Affairs for more information. Please review the Global Programs faculty travel grant criteria and deadlines for more information.

The College of Arts and Sciences offers funding to COAS students to support their development of a new Flagship Faculty-Led Study Abroad Programs. This link provides to access a comprehensive list of available study abroad scholarships, each with its own set of eligibility criteria and application process.

The staff in the COAS Office of Academic Student Affairs are available to support faculty leaders throughout this process. The first step in proposing a new faculty-led Flagship Summer Abroad Program is to contact Assistant Director of Student Affairs, Ms. Ciara Williams to have a consultation meeting. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the academic nature of the proposed program, including but not limited to course/s to be taught, faculty leaders, COAS support, and the marketing of the program. It is important to explore likely student interest in the program concept and location prior to the meeting. If after the consultation meeting, it is agreed that the program concept is likely to enhance existing education abroad program offerings, the next step is to discuss your teaching load and study abroad course with your Department Chair. Once you secure your Department Chair’s preapproval, and after reviewing the program proposal process, deadlines, and responsibilities for program leaders, we welcome you to complete and submit your proposal to the COAS Office of Academic Student Affairs in the Office of the Dean. However, the proposal forms should not be started until the consultation meeting has concluded and the proposal idea is accepted by the Office of the Dean.

January-February: Preliminary Discussions with Department Chairs 

March 15: Deadline to submit Faculty-Led SA Proposal (Signed Form, Syllabus, Budget)

April 1-June 30: SA Proposal Review Stage (Expect communication requesting that you update/review your proposal as needed)

July 1-August 15: Proposal Approval Stage

August 30: Finalized approved proposal

September 1-November 30: Study Abroad Program Promotion – Recruitment Efforts (Register Your Student Participants)

December 15: Secure all program fees

March-May: Preliminary Discussions with Department Chairs 

August 15: Deadline to submit application proposal

August 30-October 15: SA Proposal Review Stage (Expect communication requesting that you update/review your proposal as needed)

October 30 –December 15: Proposal Approval Stage

January 25: Finalized approved proposal

Jan 30-March 15: Study Abroad Program Promotion – Recruitment Efforts (Register Your Student Participants)

April 30: Secure all program fees

March-May: Preliminary Discussions with Department Chairs 

September 15: Deadline to submit application proposal

September 30- November 15: SA Proposal Review Stage (Expect communication requesting that you update/review your proposal as needed)

November 30 -January 15: Proposal Approval Stage

February 15: Finalized approved proposal

February 20-May 1: Study Abroad Program Promotion – Recruitment Efforts (Register Your Student Participants)

July 30: Secure all program fees

An exchange program is an education abroad program where COAS students enroll in courses at a foreign institution or university with which COAS has developed a formal Memorandum of Agreement or Understanding (MOA/MOU). In exchange, students from the foreign university enroll in courses at Howard University in the COAS for one or two semesters. Only COAS students are eligible to do a COAS Exchange Program

The staff in the COAS Office of Academic Student Affairs are available to support faculty leaders throughout this process. The first step in proposing a new Exchange Program is to contact Assistant Director of Student Affairs, Ms. Ciara Williams to have a consultation meeting. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the academic nature of the proposed program, including but not limited to course/s to be taught, faculty leaders, COAS support, and the marketing of the program. The Office of Academic Student Affairs will work on the MOU/Agreement development, this process can take up to 12 months. Below are important items to address before and during the consultation meeting:

• Demonstrate the strategic priority of the exchange.
• Provide evidence of student interest. - Verify that an existing exchange program is not already in place with the institution you seek to work with.
• Map the curricular scheme for intended majors so that students know how the experience will count for their degrees.
• Commit to recruiting 4 outgoing students per year (2 in fall and 2 in spring). - Show evidence of partner’s ability to recruit and send 2-4 students per year.
• Provide evidence that you are familiar with the institution (i.e., that you have recently completed a site visit) for a health and safety assessment prior to sending students.
• Designate 1 faculty and 1 staff who will be responsible for working with the Office of Academic Student Affairs on an ongoing basis.
• Accept the responsibility for the promotion, recruitment, and site-specific orientation of outgoing students in addition to assigning academic advisors for incoming students.