Come fall 2016, students at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh will be given another opportunity to stand out—to be distinctive.
Regardless of major or college, students who wish to hone their global knowledge and competencies to their college degrees can choose to be designated as Global Scholars (GS).
“This really creates an opportunity for students, in a self-directed way, to make themselves as globally distinctive as they wish,” said Franca Barricelli, associate dean in the College of Letters and Science at UW Oshkosh.
The self-directed program will allow students to select GS courses in any area of their choosing and then engage in and reflect in writing on the global high-impact learning practice such as a study abroad, an international clinical or a globally-related research or service project opportunity. Students can choose the GS designation without adding additional credits to their degree.
Barricelli said the designation is adaptable in the sense that it works with each student’s academic program.
“We live in a world infused with a need for global understanding,” Barricelli said. “Whether students go abroad or not, they are citizens of a world that is increasingly complex, increasingly interdependent—in positive and challenging ways—and our curriculum should reflect that global reality.”
The GS option at UW Oshkosh grew out of the 2012 Global Learning Initiative of the College of Letters and Science, which was coordinated by Barricelli, faculty and instructional staff members from within the College of Letters and Science. As the University Studies Program (USP) was being finalized and implemented, the initiative expanded campus wide, resulting in the creation of a dedicated University Fellow for Global Studies, a position now held by Druscilla Scribner, political science professor.
“In sum, the Global Scholar distinction is designed to give our students a leg up,” Scribner said. “It signals that graduates have invested in the global and cultural knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to navigate a complicated and interdependent world.”
Scribner said incoming freshman will automatically begin the journey toward becoming a Global Scholar just by enrolling at UW Oshkosh.
“All UW Oshkosh students will automatically fulfill the first three credits of the Global Scholar program, since the USP Global Citizenship course is the foundation for the Global Scholar option,” Scribner said. “For those students who want to build on their global learning foundation in the USP, the Global Scholar option allows them to hone their global knowledge and competency without adding credits to their degree.”
“Together, Global Citizenship and Global Scholar courses will expand the scope of students’ college learning and prepare them for the complex and changing world they will enter as graduates, by providing them with knowledge of nations, cultures, or societies beyond the U.S.,” Scribner said.
Students should expect to hear more about the Global Scholar opportunity through their involvement in USP.
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