Articles

UF aims to give students more of an international education

By Nathan Crabbe
Staff writer

Published: Monday, January 2, 2012 at 8:09 p.m.

University of Florida.

Sarah Kaiser-Cross could be the poster child for the University of Florida's efforts to give its students more of an international education.

Before graduating from UF with a degree in political science, Kaiser-Cross studied in Israel, studied twice in Egypt and taught English in Italy. She said in an email that those experiences shaped her and led to her current situation, completing a Fulbright fellowship in Turkey.

“My study-abroad programs stretched over 15 months and prepared me for an international lifestyle, one I believe is crucial to becoming a successful academic,” she wrote.

Kaiser-Cross is among a record group of Fulbright students from UF, one of several signs of the university's effort to internationalize.

UF is among the nation's leaders in providing Peace Corps members and hosting international students. The university recently introduced an international studies major and now has chosen internationalization as a focus of its re-accreditation.

“A student that has a diploma from the University of Florida will be set apart by the fact there's been an intentional effort to infuse internationalization into the educational program on campus,” said David Sammons, dean of the UF International Center.

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