Welcome to International Programs
Welcome to International Programs at The University of Iowa! International Programs enables UI students, faculty, staff, and the general public to learn from and about the world. Its offices, degree programs and events provide life-changing opportunities on campus and abroad, heighten intellectual and cultural diversity, and give all university constituents access to vital international knowledge.
A great university in the 21st century must place international learning at the very center of its activities. The world today is more complicated yet more connected, prone to repeating the mistakes of the past yet rapidly creating innovative solutions to life’s daily problems, burdened with old challenges yet rich with new opportunities. The University of Iowa must prepare its students to be tomorrow’s peacemakers, cultural bridge-builders, and fully active participants in ever more multicultural communities and an ever more inter-reliant world.
International Programs enhances international education at The University of Iowa directly, through the efforts of its staff and almost 100 affiliated faculty, and indirectly, through the leadership it provides to the University’s colleges and other units. Each year, UI students choose from over 600 courses that address international and global topics in all of the 11 colleges of the University. More than 1,100 UI students study abroad annually in over 40 countries. Almost 2,200 international students representing more than 100 nations study at the University of Iowa along with some 400 visiting scholars each academic year.
Exchanges and other educational partnerships are underway with over 60 universities and research institutes worldwide. Each year, over 3,000 schoolchildren and dozens of secondary-school teachers throughout Iowa benefit from educational programs that introduce them to non-U.S. cultures and important global issues. Likewise, the University’s wealth of information on world affairs and cultures is being placed at the service of Iowa businesses, non-profit organizations and life-long learners.
At International Programs, we take pride in generating vast opportunities for international learning as well as in providing leadership that boosts internationally focused activities across the University. I invite you to explore our Web site to learn more about the many centers, academic degree programs, offices and other international resources at The University of Iowa. Whether you might wish to attend a lecture or workshop led by a world-famous author, learn a foreign language, study abroad, become friends with someone from another culture, or get an internationally focused degree, come visit us. Let International Programs be your connection to the global community.
-- Downing Thomas
Interim Associate Provost & Dean International Programs