International Engagement

An effective international experience is defined as participation in an FSU-approved intensive international experience of at least one week abroad in which students collaborate effectively with people from cultures different than their own.

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Through the International Experience, students will demonstrate the ability to:

Minimum Criteria

To meet the criteria of the International Experience, students may choose 1 of the 2 learning activities:

  1. Complete the Global Pathways Certificate or the Global Pathways Specialized Study (with the International Sustained Experience option)
  2. Complete an Intensive International Experience Abroad, which consists of the following:
    1. Participate in an FSU-approved intensive international experience abroad of at least one week (See Criteria Listed Below);
    2. Take one of the courses below:
      1. INR 3931/3932 Theory and Practice for Global Engagement (before your experience), OR
      2. INR 3931/3932 Applied Global Experience (after your experience), OR
      3. COM 2460 Culture, Identity and Communication in Context (before or after your experience) OR
      4. another approved course (See Criteria Listed Below); and
    3. Respond to the reflection prompts regarding the International Experience.

Supporting Courses: Students will upload academic courses from their official university transcript that relate to their international plan.

Criteria for the International Experience for all International Area Garnet and Gold students:

    1. At least one week abroad
    2. Immersion in the target culture, as characterized by strategic daily interactions with the host culture that focuses on one of the following: cultural, educational, service activities
    3. Provide opportunities to:
      • Engage in an intercultural experience
      • Adjust behavior, views and perceptions (intellectually, emotionally, socially, politically, etc.)
      • Collaborate with people whose culture/customs, ethnicity, attitudes, opinions, and ideas that are different from their own
      • Speak the local language and other ways to adapt communication
      • Acquire/gain specific skills, knowledge or abilities

Criteria for Intercultural Communication Course

    1. 1-3 credit
    2. S/U or letter graded: a C- or S is required
    3. Student Learning Objectives for the course include:
      • Demonstrate knowledge of the theory and process of intercultural communication, and its application in global settings.
      • Demonstrate knowledge of at least one culture beyond their own, an attitude of respect and openness, and that their worldview is not universal.
      • Apply self-understanding, motivation and self-reflection from their global experience and through reflection understand how their experience relates to their future personal, professional and academic goals.
      • Identify the values and norms of their own culture and interpret their individual culture to people from cultures different than their own.
      • Recognize the effects of their own cultural conditioning when communicating across cultures and interpret cultural similarities, differences and their interrelatedness.
      • Collaborate effectively with others whose culture is different from their own and share their learning experience with others.
      • Communicate effectively and appropriately in intercultural situations.

The review period for an intercultural communication course is two weeks. Students will submit the course syllabus to IP-info@fsu.edu with an explanation of how the course meets the above criteria.

International Reflection and Evaluation

Utilizing the Garnet and Gold Scholar Society web portal, students will respond to the following reflection prompts relating to their international experiences. These responses will be evaluated as part of the process of completion of the Garnet and Gold Scholar Society Program. Students should have their responses reviewed and, if appropriate, edited prior to submission.

International Reflection Prompts

Please provide specific examples and answer all of the prompts below using 200-250 words for each response.

  1. Describe how you put yourself in situations so that you were able to experience a cultural exchange. Provide one example of an in-depth discussion you had with a member of another culture in which you learned and developed new understanding about that culture.

  2. Explain how you built a collaborative relationship sustained over time with people whose culture/customs, ethnicity, attitudes, values, opinions, and ideas that were different from your own. How did this engagement experience affect your perception of such cultural differences and how do you think you affected their perception of your culture?

  3. Think about the new things you learned about a culture other than your own be it something you saw or a person you met. Explain one new discovery you made about that culture. Explain how your own cultural history shaped this interaction.

  4. Explain how you adjusted your behavior, your views and perceptions (intellectually, emotionally, socially, politically, etc.).