Pack for study away, pack for life

With 33 study abroad programs across five continents and 57 countries, the Franklin College is a significant driver of international UGA student experiential opportunities. As the home of many of UGA's longest-standing programs, our faculty and advisors remind students at every turn to dial-up their campus learning experience by integrating one or more of these well-established programs into their university. That's one reason why we are so gratified that the university joined an exclusive list of institutions honored nationwide as recipients of the 2025 Senator Paul Simon Award for Comprehensive Internationalization:

UGA joins four other distinguished universities receiving the comprehensive award this year including Penn State University, San Diego State University, University of Arizona and University of Notre Dame. Named after the late Sen. Paul Simon of Illinois, the award celebrates excellence in integrating international education throughout all facets of university and college campuses.

The Office of Global Engagement leads UGA’s internationalization efforts through interdisciplinary initiatives and experiential opportunities that enhance global understanding among students, faculty and staff. OGE works to expand the reach of UGA’s teaching, research and service mission by preparing the university community for international leadership and collaboration.

“Receiving the award is a wonderful recognition of our recent growth in students’ study abroad, the support we provide for international students and UGA’s expanding global research profile,” said Martin Kagel, associate provost for the Office of Global Engagement [and A.G. Steer Professor in the Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies]. “I am grateful to President Morehead and Provost Hu for their leadership and support of our students’ experiential learning abroad. This is really an award for the entire campus, including the many faculty engaged in directing study abroad and those who contribute to internationalizing the curriculum we offer and our campus more generally. It is a recognition we can all take pride in.”

Even leading Georgia’s universities for study abroad with 3,162 UGA students traveling to 83 countries for programs that counted toward academic credit in academic year 2023-24, capacity exists for more students to take advantage of these crucial opportunities to learn, grow, and explore - to find their spark, as we say.

Image: Junemester undergraduate students pose with a University of Georgia flag in front of the UGA at Oxford Centre. (Photo by Andrew Davis Tucker/UGA)