International Opportunities by the Numbers
#700+
Number of study abroad destinations & programs offered
#500+
Number of students who have studied abroad since 2021 (post-pandemic)
#105
Number of international students studying at WCU
#38
Number of faculty-led study trips in AY2023-2024
WCU Celebrates International Education Week
One of the highlights of International Education Week , celebrated this year from November 13 to 18, will be a ribbon-cutting for a new
space within the Global Engagement Office: a new Global Engagement Center on the fourth
floor of Mitchell Hall. The official opening will take place on Tuesday, November
14, at 11 a.m.
Angela Howard, associate provost for global engagement, notes the Global Engagement Center includes a multipurpose room, a multifaith room, study space, offices for visiting scholars and the Global Ambassadors, and the campus passport office. International students are decorating the new space. For Howard, it represents the culmination of a long-held goal of a place at WCU dedicated to international students and initiatives.
At WCU, International Education Week shines the spotlight on opportunities through the Global Engagement Office for study and research abroad, international internships and student teaching, field study, and exchange agreements with institutions abroad. The Global Engagement Office also helps to arrange for sports teams to play in other countries and for performing arts students to perform internationally, plus supports international students and visiting scholars who come to study and teach at WCU.
“There was this myth that only certain majors can study abroad,” Howard says. “We try to dispel that myth by offering all of these different opportunities, especially the performance, research, student teaching, and internship opportunities.”
To streamline processes for studying abroad, the office became a passport acceptance facility approved by the U.S. Department of State – the only one at a university in Pennsylvania. Office staff can accept passport applications, administer the required oath, sign forms, collect fees, and send in the paperwork. Since opening in February 2023, more than 250 passport applications have been processed. “We wanted to remove barriers for students who want to travel,” Howard says.
Click here for the complete International Education Week schedule.
The Global Engagement Office is located on the third floor (south) of Mitchell Hall. For more information, call 610-436-3515 or email studyabroad@wcupa.edu.