Globalization of the Union College engineering programs

Seventy percent or more of Union College engineering students have some type of international experience requiring travel to, and immersion in, a foreign culture before they graduate. Our goal has been, and continues to be, to have 100% of eligible students participate in an international experience. In the Class of 2007, 23% went on a non-engineering term abroad, 34% participated in an engineering exchange, and 13% went on a three-week mini-term program. An additional 18% met their international experience requirements by taking modern language courses. Previous classes have had up to 88% of the graduates participating in some type of program that required international travel. These numbers are among the highest percentages of any engineering programs in the country. This paper will provide details on how the Union College engineering programs maintain such a high rate of sending students abroad, to include a historical perspective on how international programs were developed and implemented, administrative and faculty support for international programs, advising, efforts to develop more programs specifically aimed at engineering students, and lessons learned and pitfalls to avoid.