Jennifer Felps, Director of International Studies. Photo by Cambresha Knight.

Do you want to travel to other countries, try new foods, and embrace the culture you are living in? Get ready for A&M-Texarkana offers a lifetime opportunity. Our university offers a variety of short term and long term for students looking to study abroad. For short-term programs, these components range from one week to three weeks however, for the long-term program, A&M partners with some study-abroad providers, such as (CIEE), who offer programs where A&M students can enroll as a full-time student and take classes abroad for a full semester. If there is an internship option in the student degree plan, the university will allow the student to pursue an internship study abroad. Within the study abroad preparation, the university will ensure that the internship options prepared is directly related to the student’s career field. For example, a Mass Communication student may be engaged in local news stations, local radio stations, or some type of company marketing. History student may work in an art gallery or as a tourist guide in a museum. “It is very important for our students here at A&M-Texarkana to be ready for the global society that they are going to enter, and we offer such opportunities here on campus,” says Jennifer Felps Director of International Studies. Ms. Felps also went on to say that “We have international faculty, international students, we celebrate international education week but for a student to actually receive academic credit and go abroad and experience that culture it can open their world.”

So what are the requirements to meet before studying abroad? What should a student do if they are interested in the campus study abroad program? “The program has to count towards a student’s degree plan and the student must have at least a 2.5 GPA,” Jennifer Felps said. Ms Felps continued by saying that “If a student is interested in going abroad, they should stop by the International Studies office. We can begin the process discussing what their major is, what their favorite location might be for them to study abroad, and then how we can find a program that would fit into their degree plan.”

International students from the Education University of Hong Kong. Photo by Jennifer Felps.

Felps also had a fun experience meeting international students from Hong Kong two summers ago at A&M-Texarkana. “We had a group of doctoral and master students come from the Education University of Hong Kong to A&M-Texarkana,” Felps smiled showing the photo that was taken that day. “This is a picture of our Hong Kong students at State Line. We did a cultural excursion with the students and also held an education workshop that was put on by our educational faculty here at A&M-Texarkana. All of these students were pursuing masters and doctorates in education and so they were able to come to A&M-Texarkana for a short-term program straight from Hong Kong. They visited UT Tyler and then our university to learn more about the educational aspect that we pursue here at A&M-Texarkana.”

So take a little courage, prepare yourself and go out there. “If you are fearsome or worried, come talk to me. I’ll put your mind at ease about things but just understand that you do not need to be scared to experience a new culture, the best way to break the walls around you is to be confident in the life you are trying to pursue” as Felps would say. Thank you for reading. Stay safe and have fun.