In the late 1990’s the University of Minnesota began a pilot project to test new ways to integrate study abroad into the curricula. The Learning Abroad Center and the Institute of Technology (IT) looked for proactive ways to encourage IT students to study abroad as part of their undergraduate degree programs. This pilot project increased student participation substantially, doubling participation each year. It offered a model for interactions with other academic units.

Meanwhile, the leadership of the University of Minnesota placed priority on providing international perspectives as part of the undergraduate experience. Past president Mark Yudof and current president Robert Bruininks enthusiastically supported study abroad as one way to integrate international perspectives into the curriculum.

With encouragement from top administrators, grants were pursued to fund the development of this model in a way that could be shared with other institutions. Grants were awarded by FIPSE and the Bush Foundation, and the integration work expanded to nearly every college on all four campuses at the University of Minnesota. The links below are pathways to extensive grant-related archives. Additional information can be found in the grant reports.

• Bush Grant
• FIPSE Grant
• Current events & Post-grant events