Global Opportunities
Some of your most memorable and rewarding experiences at Concordia University, Nebraska will happen outside the classroom. In fact, they may even happen in another country.
In keeping with our mission, Concordia offers a wide variety of opportunities abroad to promote your intellectual, emotional and spiritual growth. The broader and richer your experiences, the more effective you’ll be as a servant-leader.
Go abroad and you can gain cross-cultural and global life skills!
When you’re in another country, you are constantly observing a way of life that is different from your own, which expands your perspective of the world.
Study or Intern Abroad
Spend a semester or summer in another country, taking a full course of study and immersing yourself in an international culture. Concordia will help you find a program that enriches your academic experience, gets you class credit and plunges you into a different language and culture to expand your worldview.
You may also choose to explore potential careers and obtain real-world experience in a professional environment. With the help of the Global Opportunities Center, you can secure an internship or practicum that matches your goals and interests, to help you gain knowledge in your field and expand your horizons in an international locale.
Whether you spend a semester abroad or a shorter summer experience, Concordia can help you find an experience that fits your timeframe, your program and your passions!
Faculty-led Study Tours
Gain a global perspective, see the world and meet people of other cultures through international study tours. These short-term international trips allow you to experience another country and gain academic credit at the same time – most study tours are led by Concordia faculty members and take place during winter break, spring break, or part of May term. Study tours offer a diverse range of subjects and destinations, from biology credit in Belize to literature credit in England.
Mission and Service Here and Abroad
Volunteer your time and talents through service work in such places as central and eastern Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America. Past projects have included working with children, youth and adults in Bible school activities in Alaska, teaching English as a second language in China and medical mission trips to Guatemala.
Service opportunities at Concordia
International Student Teaching
Concordia partners with several schools in international locations where education students can complete an eight-week international student teaching placement.
Education programs at Concordia
Concordia works with a number of study abroad providers so you can choose from programs in locations across the globe. There might be some program locations that are better for your major than others, but we can help you find the best locations and options for your program and passions.
No problem. Most programs offer all classes in English. Most programs also do not require taking a foreign language class. But if you want to learn more Spanish, French, German or even Arabic, Portuguese or Hungarian, study abroad would be the perfect time to add a class and expand your cultural understanding of that place.
The study abroad cost will vary depending on the location and duration of the program. A study abroad semester in London will be more expensive than a six-week summer session in Costa Rica. Students pay the study abroad program fees for that semester away – not Concordia tuition/fees – so the cost could be more or less than a semester at Concordia, depending on the program chosen.
Students going abroad are not eligible to use Concordia institutional/athletic/performance scholarships or tuition waivers for the semester they will be off campus studying at another university. But students are still eligible for other financial aid - such as federal student loans, federal grants, Pell Grants, federal parent loans, state grants, district or church scholarships, etc. Most of the providers we use also have their own scholarships to award to students. Concordia also has a few study abroad-specific scholarships available to award to students each year.
Yes, absolutely. You can go abroad during your off-season semester, or if you don’t want to miss out on off-season training, you can take one or more classes during a shorter summer session of study abroad. Summer is also the best time to complete an internship and an international internship will pop on your resume!
Study abroad is usually when a student goes abroad for a whole semester (or some of the summer) to take classes that then transfer back to campus. A study tour would be a short experience, typically one or two weeks long, that could be a class related field trip or cultural experience led by a faculty member. Study tours are great options for students who do not have the time to go abroad for an entire semester.
Students can start planning for an experience abroad as soon as they arrive on campus. It is easy to find general education classes (in history, fine arts, literature, etc.) as well as content specific classes (in science, business, psychology, health communication, languages, etc.) in every program location. You can then plug study abroad into your four-year academic plan and plot out classes to save to take abroad. Students typically go abroad as a sophomore or junior but could also go as senior if that works out best for the classes they need.
You can reach out to the Director of Global Opportunities to ask any questions you might have. You can also schedule a visit to go over the campus process, share your academic program needs and get started on discovering what is possible.
Contact Information
Visit our Global Opportunities page for more details on upcoming study abroad opportunities, or contact Julie Johnston Hermann.
Julie Johnston Hermann
Director of Global Opportunities
