University of Mary Washington students will receive 110 free passports as part of a $13,500 grant from the Council on International Education Exchange (CIEE) and a $1,350 contribution from UMW’s Center for International Education (CIE). Passports will be made available during a one-day “Passport Caravan” event on Thursday, Sept. 15.
UMW received the grant through CIEE’s Generation Study Abroad™ initiative, which aims to double the number of American students who study abroad by 2020 by breaking down barriers, including cost. The Passport Caravan will take place on Ball Circle from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a rain location on the fourth floor of Lee Hall. UMW students interested in receiving a passport should bring required documents to the CIE to sign up for an appointment with a passport officer at the event. Advance appointments are required and are available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
“This is an important first step to study abroad for students,” said Kate Jordan, the study abroad coordinator for faculty-led programs. “Studies have shown that simply having a passport makes it more likely that students will study abroad.”
During the past academic year, 221 UMW students studied abroad in more than 32 countries. Valued at $135 each, U.S. passports last for 10 years, providing a decade of possibilities for students to study, live, work and travel around the world.
“Studying abroad widened my view of how daily life is lived all across the world,” said senior Alex Clegg, who has studied in the Czech Republic and Wales. “Each culture has something we can learn from.”
Founded in 1947, CIEE is the country’s oldest and largest nonprofit study abroad and intercultural exchange organization. Over the next five years, CIEE is sponsoring passports for 10,000 students around the country, as well as providing $20 million in scholarships and making an annual grant to college faculty to support innovative approaches for custom study abroad programs. UMW’s CIE has partnered with CIEE to offer high quality study abroad programs in the following locations: Beijing and Shanghai, China; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Tokyo, Japan; Gaborone, Botswana; and Seoul, South Korea.
For more information about the event or to sign up for an appointment at the Passport Caravan, contact UMW’s Center for International Education at 540-654-1434 or visit the center in Lee Hall, Room 434.
James says
Of course this happens the semester after I graduate 🙁 But good on you, UMW!