The International Experience

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Advising for Students in the Lloyd International Honors College

A cornerstone of the Lloyd International Honors College's General Education program is the international experience. If you wish to complete the International Honors Program, you are required to complete at least one approved international experience. Study Abroad for any UNCG student, including Honors students, is administered by the International Programs Center, so you need to schedule an appointment with the International Program Center staff to discuss your study abroad options, and also keep the Lloyd International Honors College informed along the way. The forms and deadlines required by the LIHC are described below.

Pre-approved International Experiences

The following international experiences have been pre-approved:

• Any semester- or year-long study abroad experience with exchange partners arranged through UNCG's International Programs Center (IPC)
• Several short-term or summer programs administered by IPC and run through various UNCG departments also provide the minimum 6 s. h. of course credit. Contact the IPC Study Abroad Coordinator for more information.

Students interested in having a particular international experience fulfill the International Honors Program's international experience requirement must submit a Pre-approved International Experience Notification Form (*PDF). You must submit the Notification Form before you make a commitment to participate on any particular program. This Notification Form is a necessary step for the Lloyd International Honors College travel grant.

The deadline for your Notification Form is:

• March 1 for Summer and Fall travel
• October 15 for Spring travel

All Other International Experiences

If your desired international experience is not described above, you will need to receive approval for your specific experience. You must submit the International Experience Approval Request Form before you make a commitment to participate in any particular program. You should allow three weeks for a decision to be reached on your case. If, after three weeks, you have not received emailed notice of a decision, contact the LIHC office. If your desired international experience is not approved, you will still be responsible for any costs incurred. In no case will UNCG or Lloyd International Honors College be responsible for costs associated with an international experience that is not approved.

An approved international experience should have two characteristics:

• Sufficient intellectual content so that you engage in critical and reflective thinking before, during, and after the time that you are engaged in cultures different from the cultures you grew up in. The level of intellectual content should be equivalent to at least six (6) semester hours of academic credit and should include ethnographic study of the cultures in which you are immersed.
• A level of immersion in a culture other than your own that gives you the opportunity for culturally transforming experiences. (Those experiences should result in students going beyond culture shock and coming to terms with cultures different from the ones that you grew up in.)

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Honors Travel Grant

You are eligible for the $1300 Honors Travel Grant if you:

1. Were admitted to the International Honors Program during or since Fall 2006
2. Have a UNCG cumulative GPA of at least 3.30
3. Earned at least a B in HSS 198 and your fall Freshman Honors Seminar
4. And are going on a semester or year long program through UNCG's International Programs Center

Your eligibility for this grant will be determined after you submit your form.

Upon Your Return

In the semester after returning from your international experience, you need to report on your experience in written and oral form in HSS 299 (a zero-credit course graded on a pass/no pass basis). HSS 299 has two components:

1. Reflect in writing on how your international experience has changed you personally and intellectually.
2. Share your experience with other UNCG students.

The specifics of HSS 299 will be provided to you upon enrollment in the course.

Honors Abroad

If you are participating in a UNCG Study Abroad program as your International Experience, you may also sign up for Honors Abroad programs run by LIHC, currently offered in the United Kingdom and Central and Eastern Europe.

For Honors Abroad, as a member of a small group of Honors students, you enhance your International Experience with additional academic credit, travel, and support. The form Honors Abroad takes varies depending on the program and the faculty members leading the group of students, but all programs follow the International Programs Center's Guidelines for Faculty-Led Trips. In general, Honors Abroad students and a UNCG faculty member meet in seminar before the semester abroad begins. Then, the UNCG faculty member meets students for a nearly all-expenses paid week of study and travel - either before the academic semester begins, or at the semester's conclusion, depending on the program. In addition to courses taken at their host university, students enroll in HSS 310 for three (3) additional hours of academic credit. Requirements for HSS 310 include journal assignments, a term paper, and a colloquium upon return to UNCG.

Details and an application for Honors Abroad are included in the PDF: Honors Abroad Bundle, which will be provided in late September. The deadline for these programs is in late October.

Honors Abroad in the UK

For questions about Honors Abroad in the UK, contact Caitlin Cornwell, Honors Adviser, (336) 334-5538, cecornwe@uncg.edu.

Honors Abroad in Central and Eastern Europe

For questions about Honors Abroad in Central and Eastern Europe, contact Kathleen Ahern, Department of German, Russian, and Japanese Studies. (336) 256-1157, k_ahern@uncg.edu.

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