Study Abroad

About Cherrington Global Scholars

 

The best way to understand another culture is to experience it, to connect with it for a prolonged period. Doing this is also the best way to reach a deeper understanding of your own culture as you interact with and learn from others.

At the University of Denver, we strive to develop cross-cultural connections—and the new perspectives that come with them—by encouraging students to study and live abroad for at least one quarter. We believe that an informed citizenry is one that appreciates and understands the global interdependencies that characterize our world.

The Cherrington Global Scholars program is the University’s primary—but not the only—study abroad opportunity for undergraduates. It reflects a campus-wide commitment—in curriculum development, financing and academic programming—to fostering international study, research and outreach. Our goal is to make study abroad as integral a part of the undergraduate experience as homecoming weekends and all-night study sessions.

To foster an internationalized campus culture, DU professors and administrators have developed an infrastructure that makes study abroad efficient and affordable. In fact, Cherrington Global Scholars typically spend a quarter abroad and still meet all the requirements of their degree programs—on schedule and at no additional cost. Students who cannot participate in the Cherrington program can choose from an array of other options that include international service learning projects and other short-term faculty-led programs.

As you plan your Cherrington quarter, you can choose from dozens of options spread across the continents. Cherrington-eligible DU programs grow out of formal agreements between DU and our partner institutions, many of which rank among the world’s finest universities.

In a few cases, DU professors travel with students to lead both classroom and extracurricular learning. No matter which program you choose, you can feel confident that you have the support of the entire University community—including your academic and financial aid advisers. Some academic departments have even shifted the timing of requirements within their curricula to ensure that you can seamlessly incorporate study abroad into your academic experience.

Programs

To find more information about our Study Abroad Programs, please click on the following link: http://www.du.edu/intl/abroad/programs/

Cherrington Global Scholars Faculty Board

Eric Gould, English
Chair - Cherrington Global Scholars Faculty Board
egould@du.edu

Richard Clemmer-Smith, Anthropology
rclemmer@du.edu

Fran Dickson, Human Communication Studies
fdickson@du.edu

Robert Dores, Biology
rdores@du.edu

Cathy Grieve, Mass Communications and Journalism Studies
cgrieve@du.edu

David Hopkins, International Business
dhopkins@du.edu

Christina Kreps, Anthropology
ckreps@du.edu

Eleanor McNees, English
emcnees@du.edu

Mohammad Matin, Engineering
mmatin@du.edu

Robert Mill, Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Management
rmill@du.edu

Robert Sanford, Biological Sciences
rsanford@du.edu

Javier Torre, Languages and Literatures
jtorre@du.edu

George Boyd, Associate Vice Provost for Internationalization
Ex Officio
geboyd@du.edu

Carol Fairweather, Director, Study Abroad
Ex Officio
cfairwea@du.edu

Advising Checklist

Checklist for Faculty Advisors: Student Planning for Study Abroad under the Cherrington Global Scholars (CGS) Program.

1. Please visit the Cherrington Global Scholars website for full information and policies about the CGS program
   Note especially:
   the academic purpose of the CGS program and the importance of integrating study abroad into the major, general education, etc
   eligibility requirements
   benefits of the CGS program
   application deadlines and process
   CGS policies
2. Refer also to the Study Abroad Web site for a full list of approved DU study-abroad sites and faculty-led programs. Students cannot study abroad as Cherrington Global Scholars beyond this list of sites and programs - and the list grows periodically, so you need to check it.
3. Students will come to you for advice about courses to take. As experience with the program grows and departments assess the experience of their majors, faculty advisors will probably develop a list of “preferred” universities and courses. Information on overseas universities and their course listings, together with catalogues, is available in the Study Abroad Library in International House at 2200 South Josephine. Again, by clicking on “Programs” in the left hand column of this Web site, you can find a comprehensive listing of DU programs on the Study Abroad Web site and from there you can link to overseas universities. Please also make use of the expertise of the Study Abroad Office (303.871.4912), the experience of students who have studied in overseas programs, the experience of faculty who have taught and studied overseas, and members of the CGS Faculty Board (listed on the Web site).
4. Students must come to you for approval of courses as part of the application process. There is a form for you to sign that students will bring to you with materials they will pick up at the Study Abroad Office. Here are some key questions for advisors:
   Is the student eligible for the CGS program? (Please note that the 3.0 DU GPA requirement is a serious one. Exceptions must be carefully justified and will be considered at all only in a narrow range below the standard. A student’s cumulative grade point average relative to Cherrington eligibility will be evaluated at the end of winter quarter for fall and academic year programs; at the end of summer quarter for winter quarter and spring semester programs; or at the end of fall quarter for spring quarter programs. Students who are ineligible in their junior year because of their GPA have another opportunity in their senior year if their GPA rises to 3.0 or above. Also please note that students who are on probation at the time of application and/or at any subsequent period through the completion of the program will not be eligible for the Cherrington Global Scholars program.)
   Is the overseas study site chosen by the student approved for the CGS program?
   Are the courses chosen appropriate and useful for the student and his/her major? General education? Special study interests?
   How does the study abroad experience affect the student’s graduation date? Most students can quite easily accommodate study abroad into the majors and university requirements within a four-year course of study for the degree. But this may be more difficult in certain degree programs and may not be possible at all in some combined programs.In these cases, please caution students that by studying abroad they may not be able to graduate within four years.

5. Departments make their own rules as to which courses to approve for the major, how courses count toward specific departmental requirements (or only as electives), and so on. Please be sure to let your students know any specific rules your department has set.
6. If a University Requirement course is included in the study abroad experience, note that the following policies, set by faculty, apply to all students:
   
   AHSS will accept a maximum of one class taken from an institution abroad to count towards one of the following AHSS Foundations requirements: CREX, AHUM, or SOCS. For pre-approval, students should contact the University Requirements Advisor (x12245). Courses with an AHUM, SOCS or CREX prefix taught by a DU faculty member as part of a DU faculty-led study abroad program are regarded as being taken at DU.
   
   A maximum of 1 course may be taken at a DU-sponsored site to meet NATS Foundations requirements. But courses must have a laboratory component and must be pre-approved by the NSM dean’s office or its designated representative, the University Requirements Adviser.
   
   At least one Core course (4 credits) must be taken at DU. Courses with a CORE prefix taught by a DU faculty member as part of a faulty-led DU study abroad program are regarded as being taken at DU. For course pre-approval, students should contact the University Requirements Adviser (x12245). A study abroad course approved for CORE through this process will be considered a “floating course” that will fill the one theme still needed when the student has completed two themes.
   
   All students entering DU in Fall 2006 or later are required to take 1 CORE course designated as Writing Intensive. This requirement must be fulfilled by taking a DU course. The Writing Intensive CORE requirement may not be satisfied with transfer or study abroad credit, unless a CORE course taken abroad is a DU listed CORE course offered within a faculty-led program and designated as Writing Intensive.
7. Make sure that students follow the application process as explained on the CGS Web site. All applications for study in specific programs are made through the Study Abroad Office. There is no special application for CGS status. If a student meets the eligibility requirements, elects to study abroad at a DU approved site, and has the departmental advisor’s approval for the program, then the student is eligible for CGS benefits and applies through Study Abroad to study at a particular site. However, please note special policies listed on the CGS Web site under “About Study Abroad. ” These include policies referring to students with physical and learning disabilities. If you have any questions, contact George Boyd (303.871.2091) or Carol Fairweather (303.871.4902) in the Study Abroad Office or Eric Gould in the Department of English (303.871.4571).
8. Petitions: If students wish to petition to be Cherrington Global Scholars even though they do not qualify under the CGS program eligibility criteria, they must have departmental support to do so. The petition form is available on-line. Please remember that petitions are required for any departure from the eligibility criteria. Fall quarter is the preferred period of Cherrington study, but winter and/or spring quarter or an academic year are permitted. Petition forms may be downloaded and must clearly include:
   The student’s name, contact address, e-mail, and academic status/standing
   The student’s reasons in support of the petition
   A short statement of the faculty advisor’s support
   The signature of both the student’s advisor and the department chair or an approved representative.
   
   Petitions should be sent to Carol Fairweather in the Study Abroad Office, International House, 2200 Josephine. They may be copied to the review committee of the CGS Faculty Board. For students wishing to petition for the Cherrington Global Scholars program, the petition deadline for a fall or academic year program is March 15th. For winter quarter or spring semester programs, the petition deadline is October 1st. For spring quarter programs, the petition deadline is February 1st.
9. Please note that students not eligible for study abroad with CGS may still study abroad at DU sites with departmental approval. Such students will not receive the benefits of the CGS program. (Some students will be ineligible simply because they have already studied as Cherrington Global Scholars.) Students should visit the Study Abroad Office to receive advice and information about such study.
10. Orientations: The Study Abroad Office will announce the dates and times of orientation sessions for students studying abroad and will be in touch with the students. Student attendance at one of these sessions is mandatory.

Letters of Recommendation

Thank you for encouraging your students to study abroad. Several, but not all, study abroad programs require that students submit one or more academic recommendations. In some cases, a student may give you a specific form provided by the study abroad program; in other cases, the student may simply ask you for a letter. If you have been asked to write a study abroad letter of recommendation, but have not received a program-specific recommendation form, you may use the following generic recommendation form created by DU’s Study Abroad Office: SA Recommendation Form.

Course Approvals

To help the Office of the Registrar determine placement for study abroad credit, you may be asked by students to approve specific courses for placement in their degree plans. Please refer to points 4-7 on the faculty advisor checklist for more details.

Approvals may be given to the Study Abroad Office in the form of signatures on a Approval of Study Abroad Credit form or via email sent to duabroad@du.edu