Curriculum Integration of Education Abroad

Much of the increased interest in curriculum integration (CI) of study abroad is a result of faculty and international education professionals responding to mandates to internationalize the campus and the undergraduate student learning experience. But many times faculty and staff in higher education not associated with the international offices may assume that "international" is already included as a topic area in the curriculum and that no more needs to be done to further integrate it.

Many institutions have found it easier to spend time describing the CI process and outcomes with academic units rather than dwelling on the term "curriculum integration." At some institutions, CI is actually a brand, of sorts, and the term is fully embedded into the work of the international education office. At others it is an internal strategy for the international education office, and "education abroad integration" or "study abroad integration" are terms used. Other institutions do not use the term but are committed to key elements of the CI process and have equally successful results.

FAQs about CI addressed in this resource include:

• What is curriculum integration?
• How do I work with my faculty to integrate study abroad into degree programs? 
• How do I get started? 
• What human and financial resources are required?
• Who needs to be involved?
• When and how should I talk with my institution’s executive leadership about CI?
• How much work will this be? 
• How do we find the right study abroad options for our students? 
• How do we assess the student learning outcomes of study abroad?