Educating Future Leaders
Notre Dame International believes that our students can go as far as an opportunity takes them. Through an inclusive student-centered approach, study abroad provides students with life-changing experiences in international education; facilitates their academic and personal growth through learning, research, and service abroad; and fosters students’ global competency and engagement.
Students will be challenged and forced from their comfort zone, but the experience can and will make students stronger global citizens and future global leaders.
Study Abroad is "Stronger Than Ever"
Ever since sending students home mid-semester in spring of 2020, Notre Dame’s study abroad team has been working to get students back into the program.
Their efforts have been successful; upcoming study abroad numbers will exceed pre-pandemic enrollment. A total of 824 students studied abroad in the 2019-20 academic school year, and more than 1,000 students will depart this coming year. It’s the largest number of students the program has ever seen.
Maximizing the Study Abroad Experience
Students are encouraged to go beyond study—they intern with start-ups; integrate their academics with local service opportunities; research with leading academics, often in another language; and come away with a heightened sense of curiosity and responsibility for their world. Check out the stories below that highlight students conducting research, immersing themselves in internships, and participating in a variety of community engagement opportunities.
Research
Students Conduct Cancer Research in Galway, Ireland
Study Abroad students from fall 2021 talk about their experiences conducting one-on-one cancer research at NUI Galway as part of the Biseach Initiative. This endeavor coordinates principal investigators, faculty, and students from both institutions through a series of virtual symposia, in-person conferences, and seminars to identify research opportunities, partner in grant applications, and endeavor to create joint publications and patents.
Research in Rwanda
Neila Gross ’22, a chemical engineering major, spent the fall 2021 semester studying abroad in Rwanda with a focus on the 1994 genocide. In this video, she talks about her research on the transgenerational inheritance of trauma.
Internships
Immersed in Indian Culture
"That was the biggest surprise: how welcoming the people were in India and how much easier it was than I thought it would be."
Notre Dame’s Global Professional Experience program interested Emma Ryan from the very beginning. Before she even began her first semester of college, she was browsing the study abroad programs and stumbled upon a page for the Global Professional Experience. She applied for the program and matched with Notre Dame’s contacts in New Delhi, India.
Students Expand International Learning Through Virtual GPE Program
"I was really looking around at all the resources ND had, and this one particularly stuck out to me. Any international experience I could get during COVID was going to be greatly appreciated."
The Virtual Global Professional Experience allows students to work with an international company or organization for six to seven weeks—all remotely, from their homes. Notre Dame International provided students with virtual internships with 78 companies and organizations in 10 international locations, including in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and East, South, and Southeast Asia.
Community Engagement
Puebla Student Reflection: The Children of Artur Martorell
Drew Morgan is a junior at the University of Notre Dame, studying English and Spanish, as well as a minor in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). During his semester abroad in Puebla, Mexico, he had the opportunity to volunteer at a local elementary school. He worked in a classroom with a group of sixth graders, aiding the teacher in the lessons, and even getting to teach some of the lessons on his own. He writes about the experience and how languages are a way to connect with the world.
International Student Community
"Life at Tantur—we also call it our castle—is a wonderful experience, especially if you like peaceful nature, yummy food, and meeting tons of different people. The staff is super welcoming and makes you feel like family. My favorite spots are the rooftop and the fig trees (especially in summer)."
The University of Notre Dame at Tantur invites students to be part of a residential international student community in Jerusalem. Students from all backgrounds and cultures are encouraged to engage in the program and interact with other international students, staff members, scholars, clergy, guests, and Notre Dame students studying abroad in Jerusalem.
New Program Encourages Students to Share Stories from Abroad
The Study Abroad Storytellers program is an opportunity for current students to share their stories with prospective study abroad students. As storytellers, students will share their experiences and insights from their time abroad as a student enrolled in a semester study abroad program.
Storytellers are representative of the Notre Dame undergraduate student body. Though they may come from different backgrounds, colleges, and majors, they all share an enthusiasm to grow academically and personally from this life-changing study abroad experience.
Related stories
Study Abroad Photo Contest
Notre Dame International encourages students to share their experiences abroad through an annual photo contest.
