Studying abroad isn’t just created for students to experience. USC’s Study Abroad Office is now offering more unique ways for faculty and staff to take part in that experience.
The University Studies Abroad Consortium allows faculty and staff from partner universities to go abroad for a semester or during the summer months. The goal is to strengthen institutional teachings and research that contributes to university diversification.
“We recently became a member of [USAC’s] Consortium,” said Rachel Hardison, Associate Director of Study Abroad. “The program itself has been around for about 30 years.”
Like student-focused study abroad programs, faculty and staff have the option of choosing where they would like to teach depending on the program’s sponsorship of those partnering countries. Some countries include but are not limited to Chile, Costa Rica, China, Germany, France, Spain and Ghana.
“We encourage faculty to study abroad even more this year because of how new the program is to our university,” Hardison said. “It gives teachers a chance to broaden their experience.”
USAC also offers other opportunities for faculty and staff to apply abroad through their own member programs. The “Faculty International Development Award” is a program geared towards introducing faculty and staff to the idea of studying abroad, and immerses them in the experience early on in the process.
“This program allows professors to participate in the program as if they were students.” Hardison said. “They receive a grant to participate in the program and also have the opportunity to go on field trips included in the program.”
Hardison said the program doesn’t just provide a benefit to the professors, but also to the prospective students who wish to study abroad in the future.
“[USAC] gives them that experience to broaden their portfolio and it gives them a better idea of what students are doing when they go abroad,” Hardison said. “[This adds] to them getting to internationalize their experiences that much more.”
The Study Abroad Office is researching more new opportunities for faculty to go abroad with resources on their website that lists other resources and partnership opportunities. Hardison would like to see an increase in the amount of faculty and staff participation with studying abroad.
“There are more opportunities for teachers to go abroad outside of this program,” Hardison said. “That includes many options for faculty and staff that supports them and allows for them to have an international experience.”