Broaden Your Worldview

Study Abroad & International Education


Expand your global and cultural understanding through international study.

The William and Robert Shuford Center for International Education offers smart, affordable opportunities for you to immerse yourself in a new country and academic environment, providing you transformative experiences and important skills that you can apply throughout your life.

Choose Your Experience


Our programs offer courses that you need to graduate on time. You may choose from summer, semester and year-long options, as well as faculty-led opportunities during spring break.

Katelyn Vause

I studied abroad the summer after my sophomore year at the University of Exeter. Through that experience, I explored a topic I wouldn't have otherwise, enabling me to broaden my horizons.

Katelyn Vause '18, English

Helpful Advisors


Our thorough advising, supportive workshops, orientation materials, pre- and post-study abroad courses will help you to make the most of your experience.

If you need extra support applying for a passport, or writing scholarship essays, we are here to help. We also provide opportunities to talk to students like you who have studied abroad before. We want you have a successful experience abroad that results in you gaining valuable real-life experience you can use when you graduate to leverage your first job or applying to graduate school.

Encourage your parents or guardians to read through these options with you so that your whole family gets a chance to review the costs associated with studying abroad. Planning ahead is a great advantage when building high-impact learning experiences into your LR education.

You can only learn so much from the textbook in your comfort zone.

Michael Hanlon, traveled to Costa Rica

Affordable Options & Scholarships


Studying abroad doesn’t have to be out of reach. You can find a way to make study abroad affordable for you. We offer many affordable options, and in some cases, your overall bill will be the same or less than your typical semester on campus.

Financial aid and assistance can be used for your expenses, and you can apply for a range of LR and national scholarships to make this even more economical.

  • Mary Ann Chou Study Scholarship
    • Rolling Application Deadline
    • The award of up to $1,500 is currently available for study during a summer or semester.

    The Mary Ann Chou China Study Scholarship provides funds to enable a qualified student, in good academic standing, to participate in a study program to mainland China. The program must last a minimum of three weeks and be sponsored by an academic institution.

    She established this scholarship in 2000 as a way for students at Lenoir Rhyne to develop a better understanding of the country of Chou's birth. The last line of her autobiography she writes: "It is a good feeling to finish my life story which wasn't planned in advance, just like many parts of my real life... Maybe going to China will be an important part of your life story."

  • Shuford Endowment Grants

    The William and Robert Shuford Endowment grants are intended to contribute to growth in the number of students able to participate in LR study abroad programming. As such, they can be used to cover shorter faculty-led and summer programs as well as semester and year-long programs to traditional and non-traditional destinations.

    In an effort to expand the types of programs in which students participate, some funding will be reserved to support students pursuing internships and service abroad as well as senior project research.

    The grants are further intended to support students who have financial need and/or to support LR’s goal of promoting diversity in the students that participate in study abroad programming. If you are intending to study abroad, please apply for these awards. There are many types of awards and many students will qualify for some support.

    Preference in making these awards will go to Lenoir-Rhyne students who are undergraduates or graduates with a 2.5 GPA.

    Application Deadlines

    • September 15 - Spring break, spring programs and LTSS programs
    • November 15 - Maymester programs
    • February 15 - Summer, fall semester, and academic-year programs
  • Gilman Scholarship Program

    The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program aims to diversify the kinds of students who study and intern abroad and the countries and regions where they go by offering awards to U.S. undergraduates who might otherwise not participate due to financial constraints.

    The scholarship provides a maximum of $5,000 to students who meet eligibility requirements.

    Eligibility

    The scholarship program is open to U.S. citizen undergraduate students who are receiving Federal Pell Grant funding at a two-year or four-year college or university to participate in study and intern abroad programs worldwide.

    The scholarship is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State. The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs fosters mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries to promote friendly, sympathetic and peaceful relations.

    Deadline

    • Fall: Mid-April
    • Spring: Early October
  • Boren Scholarships

    David L. Boren Scholarships provide up to $20,000 to U.S. undergraduate students to study abroad in areas of the world that are critical to U.S. interests and underrepresented in study abroad.

    Boren Scholars and Fellows study throughout the world, including Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America and the Middle East. The countries of Western Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are excluded.

    Boren Scholars and Fellows represent a variety of academic and professional disciplines, but all are interested in studying less commonly taught languages, including, but not limited to, Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian and Swahili.

    Boren Scholarships and Fellowships are funded by the National Security Education Program (NSEP), which focuses on geographic areas, languages and fields of study deemed critical to U.S. national security.

    Applicants identify how their study abroad programs or overseas projects, as well as their future academic and career goals, will contribute to U.S. national security, broadly defined.

    NSEP draws on a broad definition of national security, recognizing that the scope of national security has expanded to include not only the traditional concerns of protecting and promoting American well-being, but also the challenges of global society, including sustainable development, environmental degradation, global disease and hunger, population growth and migration and economic competitiveness.

  • Fund for Education Abroad Scholarships

    The Fund for Education Abroad (FEA) provides scholarships and ongoing support to students who are underrepresented among the U.S. study abroad population. FEA makes life-changing, international experiences accessible to all by supporting minority, community college and first-generation college students before, during and after they participate in education abroad programs.

    The FEA invests in promising students with financial need who wish to study abroad. Potential applicants who meet our eligibility requirements may participate on any international education program that meets their academic objectives.

    FEA scholarships range from $1,250-$10,000. Eligibility requirements are available through the FEA website.

  • Samuel Huntington Public Service Award

    The Samuel Huntington Public Service Award provides a $15,000 stipend for a graduating college senior to pursue one year of public service anywhere in the world. The award allows recipients to engage in a meaningful public service activity for one year before proceeding on to graduate school or a career.

    Applications should include a proposal, budget, transcript, resume and three letters of recommendation. Proposals may encompass any activity that furthers the public good. It can be undertaken alone or by working through established charitable, religious, educational, governmental or other public service organizations.

    Samuel Huntington was president and chief executive officer of the New England Electric System, which later merged with National Grid. He was deeply interested in public service. Following his graduation from college and before attending law school, Huntington taught in Nigeria. The Samuel Huntington Public Service Award was established by his friends to allow other students to realize similar experiences and to provide public service.

News & Events

Some international students weren't able to go home when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and some found it safer to remain at LR. They made a community and family in the midst of the pandemic having meals together, going on excursions and more.

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As a child, Carly Godfrey '23, MBA '24, learned to swim at LR. Years later, a spot on the swim team would bring her back to learn so much more and make way for a bright future.

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