Teaching Abroad
Western Washington University has formal and affiliate agreements with more than 30 universities and institutes around the world. While the focus of our exchange efforts is often on providing our students with international educational opportunities, nearly all have the capacity to involve greater numbers of faculty members, as well. International Programs & Exchanges has information for faculty members to participate in teaching opportunities around the world. Learn more
International exchanges are partnerships that Western has with institutions around the world. They are reciprocal in nature and students participate in quarter or semester exchanges. Western has exchanges with universities in Austria, UK, Mexico, Japan, Korea, China, Turkey, France, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Finland and the Ukraine. Faculty exchanges, which often include both teaching and research, strengthen our relationships with our partner institutions and move us a great deal closer to providing graduates of the WWU with the global competence that the world now demands.
WWU draws a distinction between programs and exchanges when it comes to study, research and teach abroad programs. Study abroad programs are unilateral activities that can involve a group of students and a WWU faculty member. There are two types of programs: Discipline-based (Departmental) and Consortia.
- Discipline-based, or “departmental” programs, are sponsored by a WWU department and led by a home university faculty member. These faculty-led programs generally consist of a faculty member taking a group of students to study discipline-based materials in a foreign country. Examples of past faculty-led programs include: Travel Literature and Writing in Australia (Journalism), Sustainable Community Development on the Island of Kefalonia (Huxley College of the Environment) and Study Abroad in West Africa: Exploring Slavery, Colonialism, & Racial Inequality (Sociology).
- Consortia Programs are usually coordinated by an administrative agent on behalf of a number of universities. WWU has consortia agreements with the following organizations:
- Northwest Council on Study Abroad (NCSA)
NCSA offers teaching positions abroad for one term. Teaching positions are available in Argentina, Austria, Chile, England, France, Greece, Italy, Mexico, and Spain. Applicants propose courses in their academic fields and the course may be modeled closely on one of the courses normally taught on campus, as long as the course has a regional, national or comparative focus appropriate to the teaching site. NCSA faculty remain on WWU payroll with sabbatical, fringe and retirement benefits. - Council for International Educational Exchange (CIEE)
CIEE International Faculty Development Seminars are intensive educational experiences designed to explore interests, challenge preconceptions, and open eyes to global issues shaping the world today. Each program features lectures, site visits, and discussions with overseas academics and colleagues. Participants return to campus ready to incorporate an international dimension into administration, course design, research, and teaching. Website: http://www.ciee.org/IFDS.aspx
- Northwest Council on Study Abroad (NCSA)
For further information on exchanges or teaching abroad opportunities, please contact Liz Partolan-Fray, Director, International Programs & Exchanges, 360-650-7970, Liz.Partolan-Fray@wwu.edu. For Fulbright Scholar Program information, please contact Dr. Christine L. Compston, 360-650-4241, Christine.Compston@wwu.edu
NCSA Faculty Positions Abroad
Faculty interested in teaching for a term in Europe or Latin America in 2009-10 are invited to apply through International Programs & Exchanges and Northwest Council on Study Abroad (NCSA). Teaching positions are available in Argentina, England, France, Greece, Italy, Mexico and Spain. Applicants propose courses in their academic fields and the course may be modeled closely on one of the courses normally taught on campus, as long as the course has a regional, national or comparative focus appropriate to the teaching site. If selected, NCSA visiting faculty remain on WWU payroll with sabbatical, fringe and retirement benefits. Program and site-specific information is available at http://ahastudyabroad.org/.
Faculty Development
CIEE New IFDS Seminars for Summer 2009
The world is changing all of the time, and the only way to truly understand our place in it is to see it for ourselves. Participate in a one- or two- week CIEE IFDS in any one of 27 countries abroad in 2009, and bring that singular perspective home to benefit your work, your institution, your students, and the wider goals of increasing international knowledge, understanding, and exchange.
CIEE announces 24 programs in 27 countries for the summer of 2009
africa
- Botswana: Social and Political Transformations in Botswana
- Ghana: Challenges of a Developing Nation
- Senegal: Balancing Tradition and Change in Senegal
- South Africa: Building a Multiracial, Multicultural Society
asia
- China: China’s Silk Road
- China: Diversity and Social Change on the Southwest Frontier
Add-on Tour: Tibet, June 19-24 - New - India: Religion in Society
- New - Korea: Understanding Modern Korea
- Mongolia:Empire, Democracy, and Contemporary Mongolian Culture
Add-on Tour: Trans-Siberian Railroad to Gobi Desert, July 1-5 - New - Vietnam: The New Vietnam: Transformations in Historical Memory and Cultural Identity
australia
- Australia: Climate Change: The Reefs and Waterways of Australia
europe
- New - France: Religious Diversity and Conflict in France
- New - Ireland: After The Celtic Tiger: The Politics and Sociology of Ireland
- New -Italy: Contemporary Italy: A Country in Crisis?
- Poland + Ukraine: Building a New Reality in Poland and Ukraine: Challenges, Successes, and Failures
- New - Russia:Social and Political Challenges of the New Russia
- Spain + Morocco: Exploring the Coexistence and Challenges of Neighboring Cultures
- Turkey: Identity, Community, and Culture in Contemporary Turkey
latin america
- Chile + Argentina: Economic Reform, Regional Integration, and Democratization
- New -Mexico: Contemporary Mexico through Art, Literature, and Cinema
- Nicaragua: Revolution and Neoliberal Reform in Nicaragua
- Peru: A Fusion of Identities: Examining Peru's Complex Past, Present, and Future
middle east
- New - Jordan: Middle East Conflict and Cooperation
- Turkey: Identity, Community, and Culture in Contemporary Turkey
- New - United Arab Emirates (UAE) + Oman:Contemporary History and Society in the UAE and Oman
Application Deadlines
- January 15, 2009 - Ping Faculty Development Fellowship Application Deadline
- February 15, 2009 - IFDS 2009 Application Deadline
Click here for possible deadline extensions.