PGS 2014: Transitions & Transformations

January 24 – May 19, 2014

The Presidential Global Scholars program is sponsored by the Office of the University President as well as University Honors. It exists to provide Virginia Tech honors students with the opportunity to discover their niches in an interconnected society and to empower them to contribute positively to our transforming world.

PGS is designed as a collaborative learning community in which ambitious Honors students and award-winning professors work in tandem with the resources and opportunities in Europe and beyond to create an environment that allos the students to better understand the world and what they might accomplish in it.

(photo by Kim Carlson)

Our theme for 2014 is Transitions & Transformations - By focusing on the interstices between fact and fiction, knowledge and belief, action and consequence, and the varied journeys of people, places and things, we can truly begin to explore global topics, which in turn can help inform our own understanding of self and our place in the world. Only then can we begin transformations of self and community.

Follow our students currently in Europe for PGS 2013: Collaboration, Cultivation, and Communites (Jan 18-May 8, 2013)

Presidential Global Scholars Blog

Join us and…

Learn how to be a global citizen

Modules are hands-on learning experiences taught by award-winning professors from across the Virginia Tech campus. 

                                 (photo by Craig Wainner)    

Topics covered during the semester include Italian Language and Cultures; Global Affairs; Science and the Global World; and Discourse and Global Society.

Experience different cultures

Presidential Global Scholars is not your everyday campus course.  It is an immersive culture experience.

(photo by Kim Carlson)                                       

Live the European experience!

Live in the elegant Villa Maderni and marvel at the breathtaking beauty of the Swiss Alps, all while discovering the influence of volcanoes in southern Italy, enjoying a boat tour in Lugano, exploring the arts in Florence, or savoring French, Italian, or German foods in the local regions.

Earn course credit

This is an academic program worth 18 credits (15 Honors credits), with possible credit in CLE areas 2, 3, and 7.

Because we are living in a small town in the Italian speaking part of Switzerland students are asked to take at least one semester of Italian studies before spring 2014. This will be offered by the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at Virginia Tech. The 3 credit Italian course you will take while at CESA will begin at a second semester, at least.

Program Information

Faculty

Our program is blessed to have affiliations with many award-winning faculty from across the university. The 2014 faculty have not been selected yet; however, they will be similar to professors from past semesters:

• Bob Bodnar (UDP, Geosciences)
• Kim Carlson (Assistant Director, PGS)
• Lay Nam Chang (Dean, College of Science)
• Virginia Fowler (Professor; Director LLC, English)
• Nikki Giovanni (UDP, English)
• Paul Heilker (ATE, Sporn, English)
• Paul Knox (UDP, School of Public and International Affairs)
• Terry Papillon (Director, University Honors; Director, PGS)
• Daniel Wubah (VP& Dean of Undergraduate Education, VT)
  

Benefits of Study Abroad

Honors students from all majors will benefit from this program.  During this experience, students will be challenged to listen, speak, and write, with great vigor and intensity, so that they return to Virginia Tech with a renewed and enlarged sense of what they want to do with their lives.

Studying abroad allows students to:

• Invest in their future
• Gain global and cross-cultural competencies
• Cultivate personal, professional, and intellectual development
• Enhance awareness of self and one's own culture
• Develop self-reliance and problem-solving skills
• Become more confident
• Improve language and cross-cultural interpersonal skills

For the experience of a lifetime

The 2014 schedule is still under construction. Check out our PGS 2013 schedule for more details about this unique opportunity to make yourself interesting.

All majors welcome!

Students from all majors will benefit from the program.  Presidential Global Scholars will better prepare students for their academic and professional careers by enhancing their ability to relate to other cultures and customs, as well as give students a frame of reference of Europe and the global world.  There are no prerequisites for this program.

Program Costs / Funding

• VT Spring 2014 Tuition & Fees
• CESA Room & Board = ~$6,500
• Presidential Global Scholars Program Fee = $3,500
• Round-trip Airfare = ~$1,000
• Visa / Passport Fees = ~$400

We do not want any student to pass up this exciting study abroad opportunity because of financial reasons. Several scholarships and forms of financial aid may be available to help defer some of the program costs.

• Student will need additional spending money.
• University Honors Presidential Global Scholars grants and Pamplin Leaders scholarships will be available upon application. The 2014 scholarship and interview process will be part of the general PGS application process.
• An allocation of student financial aid is set aside for CESA programs.  Check with the Education Abroad Office and the University Scholarships and Financial Aid Office for more information.
• Education Abroad also has information regarding internal VT scholarships.
• Be sure to check out external scholarships and funding also, such as the Gilman Scholarship Program.

Apply for the Program

If you are interested in joining the Presidential Global Scholars 2014 program, please complete our online application.  The application for Spring 2014 is due on or before Friday, March 1, 2013. Interviews for a position in our 2014 cohort as well as PGS scholarships from Honors will take place between March 25-29, 2013.

   (photo by Kim Carlson) 

Other Relevant Information

Passport / Visa

As soon as you find out that you are accepted into the program, you will need to apply for a passport , if you do not already have one.

You will also submit a student visa application in fall 2013. We will submit the student visa application as a group mailing.

News / Articles about PGS

Presidential Global Scholars reflect on first half of education abroad learning experience - VT News (April 2013)

Presidential Global Scholars 2012 - Outreach and Iinternational Affairs (Spring 2012)

University Honors students prepare for the trip of a lifetime - VT News (Dec. 2012)

Univ. Honors Students Encourage Others to Apply for next PGS - VT News (July 2012)

Students to Embark on New Study Abroad Trip - Collegiate Times (Sept. 2011)

Relevant Websites

Office of the Virginia Tech President

VT Office of International Research, Education and Development

Virginia Tech Education Abroad

Center for European Studies and Architecture

Center for Innovation and Learning

   (photo by Kim Carlson)