The development and administration of quality study abroad programs provide Title VI National Resource Centers with exciting opportunities to expand and strengthen their academic programs and their compliance with NRC standards and objectives.

• Expanded Curriculum: High quality and effectively administered study abroad programs provide international and areas studies centers—particularly African, Asian, and Latin American centers with the opportunity to develop new area studies and thematic courses across the curriculum. This is particularly true of short term programs (summer, winter break, inter-session) which typically require participating students to take two to three courses (6-9 credit hours) per program, all which will have 100 percent area or international content.
• Collaboration with Professional Schools: In compliance with NRC regulations most Title VI international and area studies centers attempt to broaden and strengthen their linkages across disciplinary boundaries to work with disciplines and professional programs that have not traditionally been included in international and area studies. Working with professional schools in the development of study abroad programs is a promising and important avenue of collaboration in strengthening the international agenda within the university. Indeed, national surveys of study abroad programs demonstrate that professional schools (e.g. agriculture, business, education, engineering, nursing and other allied health programs) recognize the benefits of internationalizing their curricula and programming, through study abroad programs.
• Innovative Curriculum Design: Study abroad programs provide Title VI centers and collaborating academic units with opportunities to develop innovative curricula. For example, an increasing number of study abroad programs offered by U.S. universities emphasize experiential learning and require students to participate in internships with local businesses or non-governmental organizations, or to engage in service learning projects.
• Language Acquisition: Beyond the exemplary Fulbright–Hays Groups Projects Abroad Advanced Overseas Intensive Language Programs, there are very few university-based study abroad programs for language acquisition and competency in non-European languages. Newly developed foreign language programs in Asia and Africa sponsored by Title VI NRCs will be attractive to undergraduates with a regional interest, particularly heritage learners. Language competency programs will be particularly attractive to undergraduate student who have limited opportunity to take advanced level courses on their home campuses. Inter-institutional, consortial language-focused study abroad programs would address this need while making advanced language courses attractive to students who might not otherwise be interested in advanced level language courses.
• Enhancing Certificate/Specialization Programs: Undergraduate international and area studies certificate or specialization programs are central to the undergraduate project of most Title VI NRCs. High quality study abroad programs in Africa, Asia, and Latin America will attract student participants to certificate and specialization programs. Since all course work completed in study abroad programs count toward area and thematic specialization, certificates, and minors, study abroad programs have the potential for significantly increasing the number of students interested in and who complete requirements for specializations, certificates, etc.
• Capacitating Inter-Institutional Linkages: The development of long-term (semester and academic year) exchange programs at universities in Africa, Asia, and Latin America can initiate new and strengthen existing linkages between Title VI NRCs and host institutions in these regions. Long-term programs benefit the student participant by providing the opportunity for cultural immersion and to take specialized courses not offered at the home campus. Just as importantly, sponsoring Title VI international and area studies programs benefit from the strengthening of institutional linkages. U.S. based scholars are increasingly dependent on collaborative relationships with international colleagues for their international/area studies scholarly endeavors. Strengthened institutional linkages provide an environment conducive to and facilitative of collaborative scholarship.
• Generating Support from Constituencies: Finally, high quality and effectively administered study abroad programs in non-traditional regions (non-Western world) will result in increased institutional and student support for Title VI international and area studies centers. Within the university community and its external constituencies there is an increasing awareness and support for international and area studies. This support is particularly strong among Asian, African, and Latin American heritage communities throughout the United States. Effective, high-quality study abroad programs can generate visibility and on-going support for international and area studies programs.

Title VI NRC Collaboration in Study Abroad: An African Studies Example