Faculty and Education Abroad

The Office of International Education (OIE) serves as your primary resource for the development of academically rich, culturally grounded, and distinctively Vincentian international education programs. We are delighted to assist and support St. John's faculty in developing their own high-impact faculty-directed programs abroad, as well as virtual exchanges with our partner universities and colleagues around the world. 

As a St. John’s faculty member, we invite you to consider our campuses in Rome and Paris as your academic and cultural “home bases” abroad. Our European administrators, faculty and staff can help you develop programs from the ground up, helping you imagine further possibilities for your coursework using local connections. We also gladly accept proposals for faculty-directed programs to destinations throughout the world.

For more information on developing a virtual exchange program, please visit the Global Online Learning Exchange (GOLE) website.

Developing a program abroad: Though short-term program types may vary, faculty-directed offerings typically follow one of two models: either as a "stand-alone" program, where travel occurs during traditional breaks in the academic calendar - during January intersession and the summer sessions - or as an “embedded” travel program, wherein a semester-long course based in NYC serves as the intellectual springboard for a one- to two-week experiential education experience abroad built into the semester.

So what’s next?

• Please read the faculty handbook as a starting point. You’ll find lots of detailed information on proposal timing, responsibilities, and the joys of leading a program.  In addition, we’d encourage you to read Prof. Meghan Clark’s piece in America Magazine, “Solid Foundations,” that discusses the theoretical and practical links between Catholic social teaching and well-designed experiential education programs abroad.
   
• As you consider your course and program outcomes, we strongly encourage you to consider the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as a framework for engaging international discourse vital to your course and to today's world.
   
• Review our faculty resources page and discover a range of materials and opportunities to support your internationalization efforts.
   
• Please use the short-term program proposal form and supporting documents to submit your ideas for new and recurring faculty-directed programs. The deadline for winter programs—and spring “embedded” programs—is March 15, while the deadline for summer programs—and fall “embedded” programs—is August 15.
   
• Contact us with any questions. Especially if your proposed program would be your first, you may have lots of questions and concerns—and we’re happy to help!

Most important, thank you for reviewing this information—and for considering a faculty-directed program at St. John's. They offer one of the highest-impact ways to engage undergraduate and graduate students alike, and to strongly influence both their intellectual and personal development.

If you have questions and would like to get started on a faculty-directed program proposal, we would love to hear from you! Please contact Dennis Cuadros, Assistant Director of Short-Term Programs, or Genie Smiddy, Coordinator of Short-Term Programs.

For any other matters related to academics abroad, we encourage you to contact Dr. Zoe Petropoulou, Senior Director of Global Engagement: [email protected].