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Presidential Global Scholars

Collaboration, Cultivation, and International Communites

January 18 – May 8, 2013

The Presidential Global Scholars program is sponsored by the Office of the University President as well as University Honors. It exists to provide Virgnia 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.

Castle in Belizona

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 allows the students to better understand the world and what they might accomplish in it. (photo by Kim Carlson)

Join us and…

Learn how to be a global citizen

Modules will be hands-on learning experiences taught by award-winning professors from across the Virginia Tech campus. (photo by Craig Wainner) Topics covered during the semester will include Italian; Global Affairs; Understanding Europe; Science as a Global Issue; Individual, Culture and Discourse; Leadership and Organizations; and Whose Story is It?

Experience different cultures

(photo by Kim Carlson)
Presidential Global Scholars is not your everyday campus course. It is an immersive culture 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.

(photo by Craig Wainner) Live the European experience!

Earn course credit

This is an academic program worth 18 University Honors credits in areas 2, 3, and 7.

Students may work with PGS directors to develop individual projects or independent study credit as a substitute for three of the 18 credits.

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 2013. 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

2013 Faculty

Bob Bodnar (UDP, Geosciences)
Kim Carlson (Assistant Director, PGS)
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)

(photo by Kim Carlson)

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 and how they might go about it.

Studying abroad allows students to:

Invest in your future
Gain global and cross-cultural competencies
Cultivate personal, professional, and intellectual development
Enhance your awareness of self and your 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

Check out our schedule for more details about this unique opportunity to make yourself interesting.

Swiss Map

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 2013 Tuition & Fees
CESA Room & Board $6,468
Presidential Global Scholars Program Fee = $3,000
Round-trip Airfare = ~$1,000
Visa / Passport Fees = ~$400
Switzerland Health Insurance = ~$150

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 be given a travel stipend for train and airplane costs to travel within Europe but will need additional spending money.
University Honors Presidential Global Scholars grants and Pamplin Leaders scholarships will be available upon application. See Dr. Terry Papillon for more information regarding Honors scholarships.
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 2013 program, please read through, complete, and print the application. The application for Spring 2013 is due to Ms. Amy Ingram in room 137 Hillcrest on or before Friday, March 30, 2012.