The mission of the Study Abroad Office is to serve all North Carolina State University students by providing academically well-matched, immersive experiences abroad, with a commitment to safety and accessibility.
The primary goals of the Study Abroad Office are to:
The NC State Study Abroad Office is an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. We are committed to developing diverse, culturally competent students prepared to engage in today’s global society. We strive to foster an inclusive environment for all students and encourage students of all identities and backgrounds to study abroad. We aim to create access and awareness that will lead to increased engagement among students from underserved backgrounds including but not limited to racial and ethnic minority groups, first-generation students, students facing financial barriers, GLBTQIA+, military and veterans, and students with accessibility needs. We provide academic and co-curricular programming to explore identity, connection, and community through a global lens. We collaborate with our campus community and global partners to best support our students on campus and abroad.
The Study Abroad Office is a member of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, The Forum on Education Abroad, Diversity Abroad, and the Global Leadership League.
We are proud recipients of IIE’s Generation Study Abroad Seal of Excellence for surpassing our goals as a Commitment Partner.
The Study Abroad Office was honored with the 2019 Chancellor’s Creating Community Awards for our work in the areas of equity, diversity, and inclusion.
To successfully navigate their way in the world, students need to have a solid understanding that all major issues facing the world today are global issues. Developments in health, technology, the environment, the economy, communication, security, and political structures around the world affect our individual daily lives. Conversely, our individual actions can have a global impact.
Higher education has the potential to help students experience this interrelatedness as an exciting opportunity rather than a cause for concern. Students who are given the knowledge and skills for critical discernment can have the confidence to be globally engaged, and have the potential to become respectful, compassionate, and effective problem solvers.
Global competence is crucially important in both the personal and professional lives of our graduates. Employers are searching for applicants whose intercultural skills will help their companies be productive, both through effective teamwork with diverse coworkers and through direct contact with overseas collaborators and competitors.
Study abroad is uniquely able to provide a transformative understanding of other cultures and their systems by immersing students in an unfamiliar context. Participants learn that they can successfully take the risk of leaving their comfort zone, be resourceful in gathering information, and take effective action without fully resolving the ambiguity of a highly complex situation. In short, an academically based international experience can provide students with the knowledge and skills to be active, informed, and interculturally competent citizens in the global community.