Gateway to global learning

Apply now for summer programs around the world on topics such as sustainability,
art and business.

Go to Ghana to experience African culture, Rome to learn about art or Nicaragua to study sustainable community development.

This summer, Portland State professors are leading 28 trips abroad for students who want short and intense international education experiences.

The one-to-six-week trips are gaining in popularity for students who can't make the financial or time commitment to stay longer. Last year, 335 PSU students participated.

"Short-term programs are excellent entrees into international studies," says Joseph Miller, faculty-led programs coordinator. "They are not vacations at all. They dive right into it."

Ben Werner, who received his MBA last year, traveled to United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to study international finance and sustainable development in December 2010.

"We went to places that were literally building a city out of the sand. It's a scale of things you don't see here," he says.

Richard White, assistant professor of urban studies and planning, will lead a group of eight to 10 students on a month-long trip to Nicaragua, where they will study Spanish, live with local families, visit development projects and work with organizations.

"I consider my role as changing the world one student at a time," White said. "The inverse of that is letting the world change the students, one student at a time. You will be changed."

Applications are due March 16 or April 9. To learn more, click on the program or contact the Education Abroad office, 503-725-4094.