Studying abroad is a life-changing experience for the undergraduate students who participate in it. They often come back with more confidence, independence, and a greater understanding of the world and global relationships. For these and many other reasons, I’m sure that you share our desire to have more CSI students study abroad. While all of our students can take advantage of the wonderful opportunities that we offer through the College, faculty and staff encouragement is the key to motivating our students to take the initiative to study abroad.  Our students need your help and we need your help.

1. Please encourage everyone to attend events during International Education Week​,  Nov. 14 through 18.

2. Please schedule a brief study abroad presentation to your classes.

In addition to your encouragement, classroom presentations with a Study Abroad Advisor from the Center for Global Engagement are an excellent way to get the word out. To schedule a class visit of  ten to 15 minutes this fall, please send an email to lucy amon at lucy.amon@csi.cuny.edu. Please include your name, phone number(s), the course title(s) and number(s), along with the scheduled time and place, approximate class size, and preferred date for the class visit. We will get back to you to confirm the details of the visit. If you have any questions, please call Lucy at 718.982.2101.

While you might already know that most financial aid applies and significant scholarships are available, you might not have heard that CSI students won nearly $200,000 in scholarships to study abroad over the last three years​, including semester grants of up to $8,000 from our program partner in Florence, Italy. To see more about our students’ experiences abroad, we invite you to check out student photos and testimonials at our Dolphins Across the Seven Seas CSI Study Abroad Blog.

Lastly, I want to thank the many faculty and staff who are working so hard to internationalize the academic life of our campus community and to help foster an awareness of the interdependence of nations, the value of diversity, and the importance of global-international understanding. I look forward to working with many more of you in the semesters to come. If there is anything I can do for you, please do not hesitate to ask.

Thank you for your support.