CIEE + ASU Online Courses = Study Abroad + STEM!

In August 2024, we announced that CIEE and Arizona State University (ASU) had joined forces to ensure that every student can study abroad wherever they most desire and still complete the coursework needed to stay on track for graduation by augmenting their in-person coursework with ASU online courses. Today, I’m pleased to share with you the results of our first semester. 

The goal of the partnership was to eliminate curriculum barriers and provide additional opportunities for students with challenging majors to study abroad. The press release is located on our website.

ASU offers over 4,000 college courses that support more than 300 degree programs and are taught online by the same ASU faculty who teach in-person. The partnership allows CIEE to offer your students thousands of fully-accredited courses in engineering, technology, science, business, entrepreneurship, healthcare, education, social sciences, environmental science and sustainability, and more. 

Highlights of the ASU and CIEE partnership for the Spring ’25 semester include:

• 54 colleges and universities allowed their students to study abroad and enroll in online courses, including large public research universities, large and small private universities, community colleges, HBCUs, and polytechnical universities.
• 25 CIEE study abroad locations have students taking in-person and online courses, including Amman, Berlin, Copenhagen, Kyoto, Monteverde, Rome, Santiago, Singapore, Sydney, and Taipei, to name a few.
• 41 different academic majors are taking in-person and online courses abroad, including Biochemistry, Biomedical Engineering, Computer and Information Sciences, Early Childhood Education, Mechanical Engineering, Neuroscience, Nursing, Physics, Pre-medicine, and Psychology.
• 72 different courses are being taken online in 25 different locations, including, 
  • Calculus and Probability
  • Calculus for Engineers I
  • Engineering Statistics
  • General Biology I
  • General Chemistry I
  • Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory
  • Introduction to Physics with a Physics Lab
  • Principles of Programing with a Programing Lab

Many students leveraged ASU’s vast portfolio of online courses to support their academic majors as they traveled abroad to the CIEE location of their choice and embraced a semester in a foreign country, exploring a foreign culture, and at times taking a foreign language. Examples include:

• A Biology major in Paris enrolled online in General Chemistry I and General Biology I.
• A Computer and Information Sciences major in Singapore enrolled online in two classes - Information Systems, Analytics, and AI; and Foundations of Information and Computer Systems Security, while another CIS major in Seville enrolled online in Introduction to Physics (with a Lab).
• An Economics major in Cape Town enrolled online in two classes – Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory, and Calculus and Probability.
• A Mechanical Engineering major in Florence enrolled online in Engineering Statistics while another Mechanical Engineering major studying abroad on CIEE’s Open Campus in Amsterdam and Copenhagen enrolled online in Principles of Programing (with a Lab).
• A Psychology major in Barcelona enrolled online in Personality Theory and Research while another Psychology major in Seville enrolled online in Sensation and Perception.

In addition to scores of students supporting their academic majors with online courses as they study abroad in dozens of different locations, many found unique ways to enhance their study abroad experience in the location they chose with courses that would have not have traditionally been offered in that location.  Examples include:

• An Accounting major in Florence enrolled in Calculus for Engineers I, while a second Accounting major in Paris enrolled in Introduction to Nutrition Science, and a third Accounting major studying on CIEE’s Open Campus in Madrid, London and Rome enrolled online in Art of Asia.
• A PolySci major in Taipei enrolled online in two classes - Art of Asia; and Aztecs, Incas and Mayas.
• A Neuroscience major studying on CIEE’s Open Campus program in Singapore, Sydney and Madrid enrolled online in Introduction to Art and Film: The Creative Process.

By leveraging online coursework to open doors to place-based international learning, these students are experiencing a rich, international and intercultural experience while they advance and enhance their academic careers.

Together, CIEE and ASU are leading change in study abroad to ensure that all students, regardless of their academic course requirements, have the opportunity to embrace the transformational experience of studying abroad