Bridge Builder U.S. Colleges

CIEE honors the following U.S. based colleges and universities for the bridges they build by connecting students with transformative experiences abroad. These trailblazers of international education bring the world together by increasing access to study abroad opportunities that allow American college students to build personal relationships across cultures and gain skills for thriving in today’s multicultural and interconnected world.

Arizona State University

CIEE honors Arizona State University for their vision and commitment to increasing access to study abroad, particularly through their ASU Global Flex program, an innovative offering that is particularly appealing for students with majors traditionally underrepresented in study abroad, such as STEM majors. The program allows students to take up to two in-person Open Campus courses each block, supplemented by online ASU courses that will help students stay on track for their degree progression.

Beyond Global Flex, ASU and CIEE continue to collaborate on sending students around the world, working together to leverage funding opportunities, program models, and other innovative initiatives to open greater access to the ASU student body.

“If we have learned anything from the past few years, it’s that all people on this planet are deeply and profoundly connected. Studying abroad continues to be one of the most effective ways for students to understand these connections through their lived experience.” – Noah Rost, Arizona State University

Read a reflection from an ASU student about the transformative power of study abroad.

Babson College

CIEE honors Babson College for educating entrepreneurial and business leaders with a global mindset.

Babson has been a leader in international education for almost a century. The college hosted its first international student from China in 1932 and has since nurtured a culture of educating globally minded business leaders. Today, Babson College sends 63% of its graduating class on credit-bearing education abroad programs. Additionally, 30% of undergraduate students are international students.

Beyond student mobility, Babson has cultivated a learning environment where global education and global partnerships drive strategy and mission. In 2018, Babson was awarded the Paul Simon Comprehensive Internationalization Award. Additionally, Babson consistently ranks #1 or #2 in its Carnegie classification for number of participants on short-term and mid-length education abroad programs in IIE Open Doors rankings. In 2019, Babson College launched the “Babson Academy” to promulgate entrepreneurial education in partnership with universities around the world.

Babson boasts a 15-year partnership with CIEE. In the past five years alone, Babson has sent 500 students on CIEE semester and summer programs, 115 customized faculty-led programs, and 57 students on the “Babson in China” program during COVID-19. Representatives from Babson have served on the CIEE Academic Consortium Board and eLab’s Advisory Board. Babson was honored by CIEE with the Academic Consortium award in 2015.

“We live in an interconnected world, and to be a successful entrepreneurial leader, one needs a global mindset.” -- Lorien Romito, Babson College

Read a reflection from a Babson student about the transformative power of study abroad.

Georgetown University

CIEE honors Georgetown University for their continued support promoting global exchange. From Buenos Aires, to Legon, to Amman, to Prague, to Seoul, and many places in between, Georgetown University continues to be one of CIEE’s longest term and prolific senders to programs across the globe.

Indiana University

CIEE honors Indiana University for their active and engaged partnership with CIEE since the 1970s. When CIEE began offering its first study abroad programs in Paris, Rennes, Seville, and St. Petersburg, IU served as a School of Record. Later, as CIEE expanded its programming into Central Europe and Latin America, IU enthusiastically embraced the new sites, granting direct IU credit for those programs. Later, IU did the same for new programs CIEE developed in Asia and Africa. To date, more than 3,000 Indiana University students have studied abroad with CIEE.

When, as part of a IIE Generation Study Abroad pledge, CIEE introduced a Passport Caravan program that provides free passports for students underrepresented in study abroad, IU enthusiastically embraced that effort, helping CIEE reach hundreds of underrepresented students through widely publicized and well-organized campus events.

Over the years, senior staff from the IU’s Office of Overseas Study have routinely served on CIEE committees, attended CIEE conferences, and contributed as presenters. Several IU faculty members have served on CIEE committees and program evaluation teams, helping CIEE develop new curricula and screen students for CIEE programs. IU staff and faculty have visited more than 30 CIEE program sites. Over the past two decades, IU staff have also served on both the CIEE Academic Consortium Board and the CIEE Board of Directors, notably, another Bridge Builder Award recipient, Dr. Kathleen Sideli.

Pennsylvania State University

CIEE honors Penn State University for their reliable partnership throughout the years and their recent collaboration on a brand-new type of programming to support their international students unable to travel to the U.S. due to pandemic-related travel restrictions. 

Penn State has been a consistent supporter of CIEE’s College Study Abroad programs, always open to exploring new program locations and models. In 2020 – 2021, Penn State helped CIEE to develop and deliver custom programs for international students, expressing their confidence in CIEE by sending 400+ Penn State international students to participate in this new model of programming.

“Penn State prioritizes global learning opportunities as one way ensure that our graduates are well-prepared to address the challenges facing our world today.  Through education abroad experiences, our students gain cross-cultural competencies, global perspectives on their academic discipline, career-enhancing skills, and the confidence to use their knowledge in transformative ways.” –Kate Manni, Penn State

Spelman College

CIEE honors Spelman College as a true champion of international education and advocate for the idea that all college students should study abroad. Spelman was CIEE’s School of Record from 2004 – 2016 and throughout the years has partnered with CIEE on a variety of initiatives, including Spelman Going Global!, which seeks to provide every student with an international travel experience before graduation. Spelman was also a participant in CIEE’s Passport Caravan program, an early supporter of the Frederick Douglass Global Fellowship, and has had consistent representation on CIEE’s Academic Consortium Board.

"The analysis of student reflective essays and pre-post assessment revealed that study abroad at Spelman College increases students' knowledge of other cultures and global issues, personal growth and self-discovery, openness to new cultures, foreign language skills, and ability to communicate across cultures. Furthermore, study abroad positively shapes students' academic and career trajectory, challenges their biases and assumptions, and helps in the development of their identity through heritage connection and interaction with other Black peoples in the African diaspora." -- Dr. 'Dimeji R. Togunde, Spelman College

Tulane University

CIEE honors Tulane University, a longtime member of CIEE’s Academic Consortium, for their commitment to increasing access to international education and for their role as CIEE’s School of Record since 2016.

Through our School of Record relationship, Tulane University and CIEE have worked together to provide access to high-quality programs for students from all academic and socioeconomic backgrounds.

With Tulane’s long history of supporting and offering exceptional international programs, especially in Latin America, the university has been able to provide CIEE and our more than 340 member colleges and universities with superior advice and service as CIEE strives to meet students’ international education needs.

“The pursuit of education abroad allows our students to empathize with differing ways of being in the world, exercise flexibility and adaptability when navigating uncertainty and unfamiliar situations, and understand the concept of cultural humility and how their own identity and positions of privilege inform cross-cultural interactions.” – Tulane Center for Global Education

Read a reflection from a Tulane student about the transformative power of study abroad.

University of Colorado Boulder

CIEE honors University of Colorado Boulder in recognition of their longstanding partnership and commitment to access and inclusion in study abroad.

University of Colorado’s education abroad efforts have been closely linked to CIEE since the early 1960s when CU’s study abroad portfolio consisted of a handful direct exchange agreements and CIEE Rennes, CIEE Beijing, CIEE Sevilla, and a little later CIEE St. Petersburg. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, when CU decided to expand its offerings and access, it turned again to CIEE, adopting the full CIEE portfolio.

University of Colorado Boulder staff have supported many CIEE initiatives and served on the Academic Consortium Board, helping us launch, visit, and evaluate programs. CU Boulder has been a robust collaborator over the years, supporting innovative education abroad solutions for their students, including a customized program in the Dominican Republic designed to improve access to global education opportunities for underrepresented and under-resourced students.