International Studies

Why International Studies?

• because we are all a part of the larger global community
• because global competency develops qualities of flexibility, open-mindedness, and adaptability
• because understanding the roots of international issues is vital in today's dynamically changing world
• because we learn more about ourselves when we learn about "the other"
• because cultural diversity in our own society is rooted in foreign cultures
• and because learning about the world is both challenging and fun!

International Studies encompasses a variety of curricular programs for students interested in global issues or area studies. One particular course, "Global Perspectives," provides beginning students the opportunity to explore different ways of knowing about the world, meet faculty in the program, and investigate different academic majors and career options.

• There are several interdisciplinary concentrations with an international focus: those in Foreign Language, African Studies, East Asian Studies, Latin American Studies, International Political Economy, and Modern World History.
• The Foreign Language Department offers courses in French, German, Japanese, and Spanish. Having been recently revised to emphasize the cultures in which these languages are spoken, all upper-level foreign languages courses examine the historical, political, social, economic, artistic, as well as literary trends in specific time period.
• The International Studies major, a double major that enriches any other disciplinary major, requires three introductory courses, two years of a foreign language, four courses on a specific world region (Africa, East Asia, Europe, or Latin America), and study abroad. Students in these programs have gone on to graduate school, work in Washington with the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, teach English Abroad, and do business in China.

Study Abroad has long been a pivotal experience for 35 to 40 percent of our graduates. The college offers a variety of semester-long programs in Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Some programs are led by Guilford faculty; some are through consortial arrangements; other involved direct enrollment in foreign institutions. Students participating in these programs are considered regular Guilford students and are therefore able to apply all federal, state, and college financial aid (except work study) to study abroad. Guilford continues to evaluate its programs on an ongoing basis, with the intention of providing appropriate opportunities for a wide range of student needs.

International Students have been an integral part of Guilford College since the late 1920s. Over the years the college has been home to students from over 95 different countries. These special students are involved in all facets of campus leadership, serving as Student Senate officers, orientation leaders, and residential advisors. They are recipients of numerous academic awards, achievements, and scholarships. International students serve to enrich the social and academic life of the campus through their unique personal educational, and cultural perspective.

International Relations Club is a student organization composed of foreign and American students at Guilford College. The IRC makes a special effort to reach out to the international students and to expose the campus community to the many foreign cultures represented at Guilford College. The club's purpose and activities are designed to encourage intercultural friendship, understanding, and sharing.

Model United Nations offers students a unique opportunity to experience the ways in which the international community responds to pressing global needs. By stimulating the processes of the United Nations at local, regional and national conferences, participants gain greater understanding of foreign cultures, global issues, and complexities of multinational diplomacy.

German Club sponsors cultural event that bring the campus and Greensboro communities together. Events include the Filmabend, Aprilfest, Weihnachtsfest, Liederabend, guest speakers, and Stammtisch, a weekly German conversation table.

Club Hispano/Latino sponsors cultural event that offer Guilford College students and everyone in the Greensboro community the opportunity to practice the Spanish language, discuss social and political issues of Latin America and Spain and learn more about Latino culture through poetry readings, discussions, videos, informal dinners, and various festivities. Weekly meetings, at time programmed and at times not, allow participants to practice the Spanish language.

The International Center houses the offices of the Director of International Studies, the Director of Study Abroad, the Assistant Director of Study Abroad, and the International Student Recruiter/Adviser. The Center coordinated international programming with academic departments and other programs. Specifically it sponsors public lectures international films, symposia on current global issues, and social events for students and faculty interested in International Studies; it also published the International Studies Newsletter four times a year.

Greensboro-An International Community like other areas of the United States, is rapidly becoming a more culturally and ethnically diverse region. There are major international communities of Africans, Chinese, Vietnamese, Laotians, Cambodians, Koreans, South Asians, Japanese, and Latinos. Guilford students have completed a wide variety of internships in Greensboro: helping to integrate refugees into the community at Lutheran Family Services, working with young children at the Greensboro Buddhist Coalition, tutoring school children at the Montagnard Dega Association, doing translation and accounting work at Language Resources, and serving as administrative assistants at Triad World Trade Center.

Guilford College is an institutional member of the Association of International Education Administrators (AIEA), National Association of Foreign Student Advisers (NAFSA), Council of International Educational Exchange (CIEE), ASIANetwork, and the South Atlantic Association for Asian and African Studies.