Utica College to use $35K federal grant for study abroad program

UTICA, N.Y. — Utica College announced it will use a nearly $35,000 federal grant to “create, expand, and/or diversify” its study abroad program “in support of U.S. foreign policy goals.”

The U.S. Department of State awarded the IDEAS (Increase and Diversify Education Abroad for U.S. Students) grant from its Capacity Building Program for U.S. Study Abroad.

Utica College is one of 24 colleges and universities from across the U.S. selected from 115 applicants, the college said in a Monday news release.

The Capacity Building Program for U.S. Study Abroad is a program of the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and supported in its implementation by World Learning.

“This grant will help Utica College build our innovative interprofessional education experiences abroad for students in health-care programs. We are working with partners in Ecuador, Egypt, and Ghana to develop unique opportunities for students to work together to enhance patient care and community-based health education programs,” Deborah Wilson-Allam, executive director of Utica College’s Office of International Education, said.

The Capacity Building Program for U.S. Study Abroad seeks to increase the capacity of accredited U.S. colleges and universities to “create, expand and diversify” study abroad programs for U.S. students.

In addition to the IDEAS grant competition, the program also offers opportunities for faculty, staff, and administrators at U.S. colleges and universities to participate in a series of free virtual and in-person study abroad capacity building activities.