Design Your Dream Study Abroad Program Contest

Student gazes into the distance at Mexican pyramids

If you could create your own study abroad program, where would you travel to, what would you study, and what activities would be included? This is your chance to let the UIC Study Abroad Office (SAO) know!

In partnership with the Honors College, the SAO invites students from the Honors College to submit an essay or video describing their idea for a new study abroad program. Students may submit either independently or in a team of up to 3 students.

After the submission deadline, students, faculty, and staff within the Honors College will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite program. The winning submission will have the chance to be developed into a UIC study abroad program for a future academic year and the winning student(s) will be eligible to receive a $1,000 scholarship to study on the program if it is developed.

Check out the information below to submit your study abroad program idea!

Contest Details Heading link

This contest is open to any current student within the Honors College.

Students may work on a submission independently, or in teams with other Honors College students. Teams can only have a maximum of three students.

In order to benefit from the scholarship the winning submission can earn, students should not be graduating prior to August 2023.  Students who will graduate before August 2023 may still participate in the contest, but they forfeit the scholarship if they will be graduating before the program runs

 

If you could design your own study abroad program, what would it look like? In a short essay of no more than 1,000 words, or in a video response not to exceed 5 minutes, please describe your dream study abroad program. You should plan to address the following points in your description:

  • What would the title of the program be?
  • In what country(ies)/city(ies) would the program take place?
  • What would the general timeframe of the program be?
  • What topics or academic subjects would the program focus on?
  • What are some examples of activities and cultural excursions that could be included in the program?
  • How do you think the program could contribute to helping UIC students meet their personal, professional, and academic goals?
  • Why are you excited about this study abroad opportunity and why do you think it would be attractive to UIC students?
  • Do you have a faculty member in mind who might be good at leading this course?

Essays or links to videos should be sent to sao@uic.edu with the subject line “Design a Study Abroad Program Contest” no later than 11:59 PM central on March 7th, 2022.

 

 

Here are some tips for an effective submission.

  • Submissions should be for a new faculty-directed study abroad program. Faculty-directed study abroad programs are short-term study abroad programs led by a UIC faculty member. You can find current faculty-directed programs we offer here.
  • Programs should be 6 weeks or less. Ideal durations for programs tend to be 7-days over spring break or between around 3-4 weeks during the summer.
  • Programs that are interdisciplinary, meaning that they focus on multiple topics/subjects, are ideal as they have more potential students they can recruit.
  • All programs should include social-cultural activities that expose students to the host culture and other sites of cultural importance. Examples of visits may include, museums, theatre or dance events, cooking classes, business visits, visits to local schools or other community organizations, guided walking tours of neighborhoods etc.
  • Programs that have opportunities for students to interact with locals are preferred. Consider ideas for activities or events for students to interact with local students or others. Service-learning/volunteer projects can be a good way to accomplish this, as one example.

All submissions are due by 11:59 PM on March 7th. Essays or video links should be sent to sao@uic.edu with the subject line “Design a Study Abroad Program Contest.”

A panel of judges consisting of faculty and staff from the Honors College and the Study Abroad Office will evaluate all submissions to determine which ones will be moved forward for voting by the Honors College community.

Voting will take place during March 14th-25th. Students, faculty, and staff within the Honors College will be invited to vote for their favorite study abroad program. The winning program will be announced soon after.