Saint Vincent College secures federal grant to increase access to study-abroad and foreign language programs

by Public Relations | October 22, 2024

LATROBE, PA - The Saint Vincent College has secured a two-year, $158,976 grant from the U.S. Department of Education that will be used to increase access to international studies and foreign language programs.

"I'm excited about how this grant will enhance our language and culture offerings on campus," said Dr. Elaine Bennett, dean of the School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. "It will support our faculty and our Office of Global and Community Engagement (OGCE) to make study-abroad opportunities more accessible for non-traditional students, first-generation students and low-income students."

• The College formed four sets of goals and proposed activities:
• Develop innovative formats for teaching Chinese, Spanish and French using intensive and hybrid study, immersion opportunities and embedded learning strategies. This plan includes establishing a Linguistics for Language Learners course and revamping the College's language program curricula.
• Enhance and expand Chinese language and cultural studies. The College will create exchange opportunities for faculty and students at universities in Taiwan and China. New programming will be developed for Saint Vincent College and the broader community, including local high schools.
• Develop two interdisciplinary study-abroad courses for Saint Vincent pre-professional students. The College also will implement opportunities for pre-professional study-abroad programs and internships in Taiwan, Senegal, Spain and Latin America.
• Expand and promote access to study abroad, language and international studies among Saint Vincent students and faculty. By adding a part-time staffer in the OGCE, the College will implement strategies for recruiting underrepresented students for study-abroad programs. Up to 10 percent of the grant can be used to directly fund a portion of students' study-abroad experiences. The College also plans to expand its fundraising efforts for scholarships to subsidize study abroad for lower-income students.

"Studying abroad is such a high-impact personal and professional experience for students," Bennett said. "We are working to ensure that every student can consider participating in these opportunities. This grant will enable us to encourage more students to consider studying abroad and will make us better equipped to support them."