Notre Dame News | Notre Dame News | News

Notre Dame surpasses 87 percent for undergraduate study abroad participation

2024-12-05T09:21:00-05:00

University of Notre Dame students and faculty from the College of Science and the College of Engineering embarked on a study abroad trip to the Galápagos Islands. The students conducted an observational research project of their own design and learned about principles of evolutionary biology, ecology and environmental geoscience. (Photo by Gary Lamberti/University of Notre Dame)

The University of Notre Dame has once again received national recognition for its commitment to internationalization and global education in newly released rankings from the Institute of International Education. For the 2022-23 academic year, study abroad participation among Notre Dame undergraduates increased by more than 10 percentage points from the previous year — from 77 to 87.5 percent, according to new data published in the Open Doors report.

This increase can be attributed to several factors, including greater flexibility during the application process facilitated by Notre Dame Global’s study abroad team, who reopened the application period in early spring during each of the last three years to allow more students to apply or to have a second chance to apply.

The University’s colleges and schools have also worked with Notre Dame Global to find new ways to leverage the value of Notre Dame’s global network, which has led to greater integration of study abroad into their curriculum and contributed to the overall increase in student participation.

The percentage of Notre Dame undergraduates who study abroad has reached an all-time high, also ranking the University as third among doctorate-granting universities in the U.S. based on the number of students enrolled in its programs.

“We are thrilled with this year’s rankings,” said Hong Zhu, senior director of global education at Notre Dame Global. “More importantly, the participation rate signifies how important study abroad is to our students. Students recognize that global education is an essential part of their Notre Dame education and make room for it in their academic journey.”

University of Notre Dame junior Avery Gawronski and fellow classmates participated in a summer study abroad program in Uganda where they learned about Integral Ecology at the Bethany Land Institute. They were given the opportunity to make a compost pile with discarded plants, animal manure and water, all sourced on site from the farm. (Photo by Avery Gawronski/University of Notre Dame)

Zhu added that rankings tell only part of the story. “While we are extremely proud of that, we continue to focus on better preparing students so they can maximize their experience while abroad. Much credit goes to the entire study abroad team who work hard to create these opportunities and support students along the way and to the advising deans and faculty who support students in this endeavor.”

Notre Dame Global offers approximately 58 semester and year-long study abroad programs and 34 summer programs in 35 countries around the world. While abroad, students are encouraged to take part in internships, engage with local communities and conduct research with leading academics. Through these learning experiences, students develop global competencies and cultural understanding and collaborate on global research that has the potential to improve lives.

“The University’s global strategy calls for us to enhance the intentionality of study abroad programs and to develop intellectually rich experiences that allow students to deeply engage with host cultures through rigorous coursework, internships, independent research and service to others — and that is what we will continue to focus on and strengthen,” said Michael Pippenger, vice president and associate provost for internationalization.

The Open Doors report is published by the Institute of International Education and examines the number of degree-seeking students who received academic credit for study abroad in a given year. Open Doors has conducted an annual statistical survey on international students in the United States since its founding in 1919 and in partnership with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs since 1972. Notre Dame has reported to Open Doors since 1949 and was recently awarded the Open Doors 75 Seal of Excellence.

To learn more about Notre Dame Global and its commitment to global scholarship, visit global.nd.edu. More information on the report can be found here.

Contact: Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu

Notre Dame International extends global outreach and presence with new name: Notre Dame Global

2024-04-15T11:00:00-04:00

Beginning today (April 15), Notre Dame International will adopt a new name, Notre Dame Global, and will introduce itself on its new portal at global.nd.edu. The rebrand emphasizes the interconnectedness of the University of Notre Dame’s 12 locations around the world and reflects Notre Dame Global’s vital role in advancing Notre Dame as a leading global Catholic research university, on par with but distinct from the world’s best private universities.

“The update aligns with the University’s strategic framework — which calls for increased global engagement — and underscores Notre Dame Global’s commitment to being the place where Notre Dame meets the world and the world meets Notre Dame,” said Michael Pippenger, vice president and associate provost for internationalization.

“We want everyone to see and know that Notre Dame is acting around the world as one university. To that end, renaming our division Notre Dame Global allows our partners to recognize us as using the same shared language that other global actors on campus are using to describe the reach of their research and scholarship.”

Through the work of its students, faculty, researchers and partners, Notre Dame Global will continue to provide integrative learning experiences that develop global competencies and cultural understanding, collaborative and influential global research that improves lives, thoughtful partnerships that produce transformative engagement, and an inclusive and supportive team of global professionals.

“Catholicism is the world’s most global, multicultural and multilingual institution, and Notre Dame must better embody that reality in the coming decade,” said John T. McGreevy, the Charles and Jill Fischer Provost and Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History. “Becoming a more global university is as important for the next generation at Notre Dame as the effort to develop research was in the last, and Notre Dame Global is a crucial strategic partner in that effort.”

Established as Notre Dame International in 2010, Notre Dame Global has broadened the University’s influence to span five continents and partnered with Notre Dame Research to facilitate externally funded research projects in more than 95 countries.

Notre Dame Global’s network now includes 12 active sites around the world. Formerly known as global gateways and centers, the newly renamed global locations include:

Notre Dame London
Notre Dame Rome
One entity in Africa: Notre Dame Nairobi
Three in Asia: Notre Dame Beijing, Notre Dame Hong Kong and Notre Dame Mumbai
Two in Ireland: Notre Dame Dublin and Notre Dame Kylemore
Three entities in Latin America: Notre Dame Mexico, Notre Dame Santiago and Notre Dame São Paulo
One in the Middle East: Notre Dame Jerusalem, which will still share facilities and services of the University of Notre Dame at Tantur with the Tantur Ecumenical Institute

In addition to operating these locations around the world, Notre Dame Global serves an international student population that has grown significantly and now includes more than 37,000 international students who have studied on the South Bend campus since the first international student arrived in 1850.

Over the past decade, the international population at Notre Dame has increased by roughly 34 percent, with the most significant growth coming from Latin America for undergraduates (a 58 percent increase) and from Africa (73 percent) and Central/South Asia (52 percent) for graduate/professional students.

The International Student and Scholar Affairs team within Notre Dame Global has been instrumental in supporting the steadily growing number of students and scholars, and in navigating an increasingly complicated immigration landscape by providing expert advice and student-friendly resources.

Notre Dame Global has also long been a leader in helping Notre Dame students experience the world through 60 semester and academic-year and 20 summer study abroad programs spanning 30 countries. This past November, Notre Dame was designated second in the nation for study abroad participation among doctorate-granting universities, according to the latest Institute of International Education’s Open Doors report. During the 2021-22 school year, 77 percent of undergraduate students participated in study abroad programs — a recognition that highlights the University’s commitment to global education.

“Notre Dame Global strives to be a steward of the University’s enduring commitment to global scholarship,” Pippenger said. “We want to ensure that Notre Dame’s mission and vision extend to every corner of the world. In doing so, we come into solidarity with others, joining forces with partners to learn from one another and then work together to serve the common good.”

To learn more about Notre Dame Global and its commitment to global scholarship, visit global.nd.edu or view the new Notre Dame Global video.

Contact: Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu