The Clarion Call report
Clarion University
Clarion University will be offering a new study abroad program in Spain in the spring 2019 semester. This program is new to Clarion University, which has a direct connection to the university in Spain, Instituto Franklin-Universidad de Alcala. This specific program is an exchange program, meaning students from Clarion have an opportunity to travel to and study in Spain while a student from Spain studies in Clarion.
If Spain does not suit your needs or spark your interest, there are many other options that Clarion University offers. Students can learn more about it in the Office of International Programs and from Dr. Naugle in 415 Becht Hall. Naugle wants students who are interested in an opportunity such as this to set up a meeting with their adviser first and then to meet with him. He also does not want students to worry about the cost up front as there are many financial aid and scholarship opportunities to explore.
In addition to the new study abroad destination, Clarion also offers a new scholarship. The Boren Scholarship is a program that focuses on individuals that are interested in learning a language that pertains to national security. These languages are not Indo-European, such as Turkish, Swahili and many others. This program is unique because it allows students who have an interest in learning a language outside of their major to do so. Many study abroad opportunities are lost because students do not have the academic time to go to a different country. If a study abroad program sets a student back in their major-focused classes, they could lose financial aid; this is why the Boren Scholarship is so unique and such a great opportunity.
In order to be competitive, students should have at least a 2.8 minimum GPA for study abroad programs, but other factors may be taken into consideration; for this specific scholarship, there is not a GPA requirement. That being said, all students must look at individual programs to know the specific requirements, as they may change from program to program. The Boren Scholarship is an award of $8,000 and that covers things that financial aid does not, such as credits outside your major, airfare and expenses that can occur outside of studies. The Boren Scholarship has strict guidelines to follow in order to receive the award. These guidelines vary from language to language, and students can learn more about the specific language they are interested in by checking that language on the Boren website.
Previous students have won incredible awards through the study abroad program at Clarion University. One of the students was Jacob Beckey, who was a graduate student who was awarded a Full Brite Scholarship. This scholarship was enough to cover a year at the University of Birmingham in England. He was one of 35 students nationally who were awarded a scholarship though Full Brite out of hundreds, if not thousands, of students who applied.
All programs are different, and each student should look into that program to check acceptance probability, but there is no limit on study abroad opportunities depending at which university the student wishes to study.
Clarion is also part of the C3 model project, which stands for Clarion CLIL Competence. This program uses teaching methodology found in Europe to teach people a second language. It uses building blocks of language similar to what you do when you learn to speak as an infant, as opposed to the structured framework of teaching a language in middle or high school. This program has been going on at Clarion for a few semesters and continues to grow.
