Study Abroad Goes Virtual

Before the global pandemic struck, UNC-Chapel Hill Hispanic linguistics and global studies major Karla Estrada Perez had planned to study abroad in the summer of 2020. Then, she thought, maybe it would happen in the fall.

When neither worked out due to pandemic travel restrictions, she found she still had an opportunity to experience global learning from the safety of her apartment in Chapel Hill. Perez was one of more than a dozen students who enrolled in online classes with Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador, a longtime Carolina partner university, last fall.

“We saw quickly that we needed to be creative and look for other ways to deliver a global education to our students,” said Heather Ward, associate dean for study abroad and international exchanges. “A lot of the benefit you get from traditional study abroad is to learn from international faculty, scholars and students who you might not encounter on campus at Carolina. Through our strong global partnerships, we can still deliver that benefit through remote courses with faculty and students at those institutions.”

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