International Scholars Program

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The International Scholars Program (ISP) is open to all incoming first-year students who want to broaden their perspectives through intensive academic inquiry and firsthand experience abroad. Structured as an ongoing program that runs through all four undergraduate years, ISP integrates international study with multidisciplinary seminars examining the contemporary global condition.

The seminars are designed to complement any major or academic program of study. First-year students fulfill their Frontiers requirement with a full-year seminar (fall, spring, and January terms) that introduces global perspectives. A four-credit sophomore seminar deepens the engagement by adding a local context. After completing study abroad, ISP students return for a three-session senior roundtable in which they share and compare their international experiences with those of their classmates.

The Study-Abroad Experience

Typically, students will travel abroad for a semester after completing the first two seminars (110Y and 210). This could happen as early as second semester of their sophomore year or as late as first semester of their senior year. Students are required to study for a semester, primarily because we are convinced that the real benefits of living abroad accrue over an extended time period.

Language Component Requirement

Adequate language proficiency will provide students the necessary tools to engage in meaningful exchanges and make the most of the genuine immersion experience of study abroad. Language proficiency for this program is defined as a basic mastery of the four language-learning skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. It is strongly recommended that students complete at least one additional semester of language training beyond the level of college proficiency.

All students studying in non-English-speaking countries will be required to take the language of the society in which they are studying.

Students who are placed in the 130 level when they enter Goucher are strongly encouraged to take an additional year in that language. Students may choose another language for the study-abroad experience.

First-year students who are placed in the 110 or 120 level are encouraged to participate in one of the three-week language- intensive courses. ISP students are further encouraged to consider living on language floors.

Students with documented learning disabilities that prevent them from learning languages can petition to meet this requirement through culture classes specially arranged with the ISP adviser and the disabilities specialist.

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