Welcome to the Center for Undergraduate Global Engagement (UGE)!
As we begin our first academic year as UGE, we are excited to engage with all of our partners across Columbia to become a centralized hub of global activity for our faculty and students. We are looking forward to conversations with you to identify areas of mutual interest as we work together to continue building experiences and opportunities for all Columbia undergraduates to gain global competencies and the knowledge and skills that will help them to contribute to society in a meaningful way.
Columbia faculty play a critical role in shaping the intellectual, professional, and personal journeys that our students encounter during their time here at Columbia. UGE is here to partner with you offering guidance and support if you have an idea for an innovative undergraduate global experience or if you wish to showcase your global activity.
We are developing new events and online resources for our global community so please join us for one of our events or feel free to be in touch if you have ideas or would like to be involved.
If you are interested in receiving future updates, please sign up for the UGE faculty newsletter.
Shannon P. Márquez,
PhD, MEng
Dean, Center for Undergraduate Global Engagement
UGE Events
Below please find some new activities that UGE is planning to encourage dialogue about dynamic global programming that takes place for Columbia undergraduates and the sharing of best practices across the Columbia community. All are invited to attend.
UGE Faculty Forum
A monthly forum for faculty--and other on-campus colleagues such as staff and departmental administrators--who are engaged in global activities, interested in developing new global engagement initiatives for undergraduate students, or who are preparing to take a group of Columbia students abroad.
UGE Global Spotlight
Our Global Spotlight series provides a space for faculty, students, and/or staff from across the university to highlight their research, field work, volunteer projects, and any cultural collaborations that have a global reach.
UGE Cross-Country Conversations
A series of events and discussions to bring together international and domestic students to explore transnational topics.
Events: 2019-2020
October 1: UGE Global Spotlight—Voting Week 2019 Panel: “Proactively Engaging in a Reactive World”
As part of Voting Week 2019, the Center for Undergraduate Global Engagement is co-sponsoring a panel discussion with Columbia faculty and Obama Foundation Scholars on the spread of reactionary movements and ideas across borders and democratic backsliding in regions like Europe, Latin America,and Asia. The objective is to evaluate how successful popular civic engagement (and youth civic engagement in particular) can work against such forces. Panelists include Dr. Turkuler Isiksel, James P. Shenton Associate Professor of the Core Curriculum; Dr. Laura Neitzel, Academic Director of the Committee on Global Thought; Natalia Herbst, Director for Community Organizations, Argentina National Youth Institute; and Wai Wai Nu, Founder, Yangon Youth Leadership, Founder and Executive Director, Women Peace Network.
October 10: UGE Faculty Forum: Welcome Back and Open House, 4-6 pm, Deutsches Haus, 420 West 116th Street
Kick off the new academic year by learning more about the new Center for Undergraduate Global Engagement. Mix and mingle with the new Dean of UGE and her team in addition to meeting faculty, graduate students, and other administrators who have partnered with the Center to offer overseas opportunities to our students. Learn about what we do in UGE and how we can work together to develop new programs.
November 15: UGE Global Spotlight: So You Think You Can Research Abroad? (Core Conference Room, 202 Hamilton, 3-4pm) A roundtable discussion with undergraduate and faculty researchers in STEM about how and why to conduct research outside the U.S. Come to this roundtable discussion to hear from faculty, undergraduate, and graduate students in STEM fields about their experiences conducting research abroad. Our speakers have engaged in meaningful fieldwork across the world and are ready to share things they wish they knew before embarking on their research projects, including everything from to reconciling cultural differences while researching complex topics. Light refreshments will be provided.
November 22: UGE Cross-Country Conversation: Healthcare and Human Rights—Obama Foundation Scholars in Conversation. Co-sponsored by Columbia World Projects. (Core Conference Room, 202 Hamilton, 3-4pm) Please join UGE for a roundtable discussion with Obama Scholars Mor Efrat and Isaiah Owolabi on the intersection of healthcare and human rights. Mor Efrat serves as Director of the Occupied Palestinian Territories Department at Physicians for Human Rights in Israel. She works to dismantle the obstacles that prevent patients living in Gaza and the West Bank from accessing health care. Isaiah Owolabi, an Obama Scholar from Nigeria, is the Project Director and co-founder of HACEY Health Initiative, an organization aimed at improving life outcomes of women and girls through programs like their “Hands up for HER (Health, Empowerment and Right)” initiative and their “Back on Track” vocational training program for girls.
December 4: UGE Faculty Forum: Global Scholars Program Information Session, 617 Kent, Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies
Apply for funding to launch a unique hand-on international research experience in topics of transnational importance using social science, humanities, and scientific frameworks. Learn the nuts and bolts of how to apply and hear from faculty and colleagues about their experience teaching undergraduates abroad.
Proposing a New Global Engagement Opportunity for Undergraduates
I enjoy the opportunity to teach in situ, and the opportunity to teach students 'living culture' and how to embrace, learn about and live in a foreign country and culture.
Columbia undergraduates gain global competencies through a variety of experiences whether in a domestic or overseas setting. Currently, Columbia students study in almost any country, including here in the U.S., through a variety of programs offered by Columbia and partner institutions. In particular, Columbia students relish the opportunity to learn from Columbia faculty through customized programs that build their knowledge base, further their understanding of global issues through comparative perspectives, and develop the necessary tools to effectively navigate an increasingly complex world.
I teach abroad to provide additional academic opportunities to students and to build links across departments and subjects. Moreover, I enjoy teaching and spending time abroad.
If you are interested in proposing a new global engagement opportunity for students designed to enrich their understanding of academic material that you regularly present in the classroom or to translate your research into global opportunities for undergraduates, we invite you to learn more about how UGE can help you through all of the stages of developing and implementing a successful global experience.
Teaching abroad allows for the possiblity of creating a more intense relationship with students and with the subject of the course.
This section is still under construction. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please reach out to Fay Ju for more information.
Teaching and Working Abroad
Below please find opportunities for Columbia faculty and graduate students to teach and/or work abroad on undergraduate programs that are Columbia-Led or affiliated with Columbia.
Application and terms will vary depending on the opportunity but generally the courses proposed will need to be relevant to the location and/or program focus.
For Faculty
UGE@Reid Hall
- Paris Summer: Columbia or Barnard faculty can apply to teach a course in English or French.
- Paris Fall, Spring or Academic Year: Columbia or Barnard faculty can apply to teach a course in French.
For more information, please contact Scott Carpenter.
It is a wonderful experience to teach a highly motivated class in France, an experience that is as close to sheer teaching as is possible. I return rekindled in the love of my profession and in the knowledge that I am making a difference in the students' lives. On top of that, the terms are very fair, and give the feeling that the work I do at Reid Hall is truly valued.
Core Abroad: Art Humanities and Music Humanities
Summer Core in Berlin, Leipzig, Summer 2019
Summer Core in Berlin, Leipzig, Summer 2019
- Paris Fall, Spring, or Academic Year: Columbia or Barnard faculty who have taught Art Humanities or Music Humanities can apply to teach abroad in Paris.
- Paris or Berlin Summer: Columbia or Barnard faculty who have taught Art Humanities or Music Humanities can apply to teach abroad in Paris.
For more information, please contact Scott Carpenter.
Berlin Consortium for German Studies (BCGS)
This is a rotating opportunity for consortium member faculty to teach in Berlin. Columbia is responsible for providing a faculty member during the 2026-2027 academic year. For more information, please contact Fay Ju.
CASA in Cuba
Faculty can apply to teach abroad in one of the CASA study abroad programs. For more information, please contact Scott Carpenter.
Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies Summer Program in Modern Japanese
This program seeks language faculty to teach abroad during the summer program in Kyoto. For more information, please contact Fay Ju.
Tropical Biology and Sustainable Development in Kenya
Sponsored by the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology, this program seeks faculty with the relevant expertise to teach one course module during the spring term. For more information, please contact Fay Ju.
Columbia Summer in Venice
Sponsored by the Department of Art History and the Department of Italian, this summer program seeks faculty with expertise outside of these two departments but relevant to Venice to teach one course during a six week summer program. For more information, please contact Fay Ju.
I think in-situ teaching is not only immensely beneficial to students, it’s pure pleasure for the professor as well. It also creates a group of future scholars who will deeply care about Venice, a place that continues to be exposed to pressures in terms of environmental and demographic problems and issues due to mass tourism.
Bologna Consortial Studies Program
Faculty can apply to teach abroad in Bologna through Columbia’s associate membership in this program. For more information, please contact Scott Carpenter.
For Postdoctorates
Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies
This program seeks postdoctoral fellows every two years to teach abroad in Kyoto. For more information, please contact Fay Ju.
For Graduate Students
Summer Program Directors often hire a graduate student to help with all aspects of program coordination and student support.
Global Scholars Program Request for Proposals
Columbia faculty are invited to apply for funding to develop a unique hands-on international research experience for Columbia undergraduates located at one or more of the Columbia Global Centers or at locations in regions they serve. Global topics are explored through interdisciplinary approaches and investigated on campus and abroad, giving students first-hand opportunities to understand and compare how local communities approach these issues.
Global Scholars Programs will be funded up to $100,000 each.
The Global Scholars Program Request for Proposals is due January 31, 2020.
If you have any questions about the Global Scholars Program or would like to schedule a consultation with UGE, please contact Fay Ju.
Community Resources for Undergraduate Global Engagement
Information for Directors of Undergraduate Studies
The Center for Undergraduate Global Engagement manages the process by which credits from study abroad are added to students’ records. It remains the purview of the academic department to determine if and how coursework taken abroad might fit into major or concentration requirements. Please read more here on the roles and responsibilities of the DUS in the study abroad advising process.
Every semester, the Center for Undergraduate Global Engagement sends to Directors of Undergraduate Studies a list of students who will be studying abroad that semester and of those returning from studying abroad in the previous semester or academic year.
If you have any questions about your students and study abroad, please contact Scott Carpenter, Associate Dean in the Center for Undergraduate Student Engagement at 212.854.2559.
Resources
This section is still under construction. Please continue to check back for more resources.