Global Scholars helps you connect an approved summer experience with a research question or issue that matters to you. Use these FAQs to understand how the program works, what it requires, and whether it fits your goals and circumstances.
Who can apply to Global Scholars?
FSU undergraduates from all majors may apply, and there is no minimum GPA requirement. You must return to FSU as an undergraduate during the fall after your summer experience. If you are close to graduation, or if your enrollment status, campus, program format, or immigration status may create additional requirements, confirm your eligibility with Global Scholars staff before applying.
Do I need to have my summer experience secured or my research question finalized before I apply?
No. You should have interests, possible ideas, and a general sense of what you might want to explore, but you do not need a secured summer experience or a finalized research question when you apply. You will refine your project and work toward securing an approved experience during the spring course. Previous research, international travel, volunteer, or professional experience is not required to apply.
What will the application ask me about?
Be prepared to discuss your interests, relevant experiences, possible summer plans, and how Global Scholars could connect to your academic, professional, community, or personal goals. Exact application questions and word limits may change from year to year, so use the current application for the most up-to-date prompts and requirements.
Do I have to travel abroad?
No. An approved experience may be international, elsewhere in the United States, local, or remote. The "global" part of Global Scholars is not limited to international travel; your project can explore how a local organization, profession, community, or issue connects to larger cultures, systems, histories, inequalities, sustainability, development, interdependence, or intercultural understanding. Any local or remote experience must still meet program requirements and connect meaningfully to your approved project.
What if work, family, health, accessibility, or finances limit my summer options?
Those considerations should be part of your planning from the beginning. Because experiences may be international, elsewhere in the United States, local, or remote, you can explore options that are more compatible with your circumstances while still meeting program requirements. Raise significant scheduling, accessibility, health, travel, or financial concerns early so you can evaluate what is realistic before making commitments. If you need accommodations for the spring or fall courses, begin the appropriate FSU accessibility process early; arrangements for an outside host organization or travel experience may require separate planning.
What kinds of summer experiences qualify, and how long do they need to last?
Possible experiences include internships, approved volunteer or community-engagement positions, study-abroad or exchange programs, faculty-mentored independent research, research assistantships or Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs), professional training or certification, and other sustained opportunities connected to an approved project. Your experience must have a global element or focus and receive Global Scholars approval.
The current minimum-duration requirements are six weeks of full-time, in-person participation; eight weeks of part-time, in-person participation; or twelve weeks of full- or part-time remote participation. Personal vacations, faith-based mission trips, professional conferences or sales trips, and unvetted voluntourism organizations do not qualify.
Do I have to find my own summer experience, and what help will I get?
Yes, you are responsible for identifying, applying for, interviewing for, and securing your summer experience, as well as completing any outside requirements. Global Scholars does not assign or guarantee a placement. However, you are not expected to figure everything out alone: the program provides coursework, planning resources, mentorship, peer community, research preparation, feedback, guidance for identifying opportunities and possible funding, and an approval process to help determine whether your final experience meets program requirements.
How does research fit into my summer experience?
Your summer experience and your research project are connected, but they are not the same thing. Your summer experience is the activity you complete, such as an internship, volunteer position, study-abroad program, professional training, certification, or research opportunity. Your research project is the focused question you investigate in connection with that experience. Your summer opportunity does not have to be advertised as a formal research position, but it must provide an appropriate setting for your approved Global Scholars project.
In Global Scholars, research begins with a focused question and an organized process for investigating it. Depending on your project, that may include reviewing scholarship, examining policies or documents, recording field observations, maintaining reflective notes, analyzing media or organizational materials, or gathering other approved information connected to your experience.
What happens during the spring, summer, and fall, and how much work should I expect?
Global Scholars is a year-long program with three connected stages. In the spring, you complete the theory and planning course, develop your Experience Proposal and Research Proposal, prepare for your summer experience, and work toward securing program approval. During the summer, there is no separate Global Scholars course under the current structure, but you complete your approved experience, document your progress, participate in required check-ins or reflections, and gather appropriate information for your project. In the fall, you complete the reflection course, analyze what you learned, finish your Capstone Project, create a research poster, and participate in the Global Scholars Showcase.
The spring and fall courses are currently held in person. Outside class, expect planning and proposal work, readings or discussions, summer documentation, research or analysis, a Digital Portfolio, a Capstone Project, and a research poster.
How much does Global Scholars cost, and is funding guaranteed?
Course-related charges may total up to the cost of two credit hours. You should also budget separately for expenses connected to your summer experience, which may include transportation or airfare, housing and food, visas or travel documents, insurance, outside program fees, supplies, and other living expenses.
Need-based experiential funding may be available through a separate application process, and other grants or scholarships may also be available. Funding is not guaranteed when you are accepted, so do not build a budget that assumes you will receive a particular award. Confirm current funding opportunities and exact course charges before making financial commitments.
Does Global Scholars count for academic credit or a graduation requirement?
Global Scholars includes spring and fall course components that may be taken for variable credit (0-1). Additional summer credit may sometimes be arranged separately through an academic department, internship course, Honors in the Major credit, or Directed Individual Study credit. Before relying on Global Scholars to satisfy the CoreFSU Scholarly and Formative Experience graduation requirement, confirm the current process with Global Scholars staff and your academic adviser.