Applications are being accepted from Iowa State students interested in participating in the summer 2017 Global Leadership Study Abroad Program to Stockholm, Sweden. The 2017 trip will be the third time this opportunity has been offered by the Leadership Studies Program, which is coordinated by the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics.
Students selected to participate in the 2017 Global Leadership Study Abroad Program will earn six hours of leadership studies course credit while visiting Stockholm, Sweden, and the surrounding area from May 9 through June 3, 2017.
Students can apply for the study abroad program here. Applications for the program are due Feb. 1, 2017. No more than 20 students will be selected to participate in the program on the basis of a short (two-three page) essay on leadership, academic transcript and resume. To be eligible, students must have at least sophomore status at the beginning of summer 2017; a minimum GPA of 2.5; and be at least 18 years of age upon departure. The tentative cost for the program is approximately $5,569 per student for in-state tuition and $8,267 for non-resident tuition.
All students selected will receive a $625 tuition waiver from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Selected applicants with financial need, as determined by the Office of Financial Aid, may be eligible for additional support through the Stanley Global Leaders scholarship program, with awards given on the basis of need, academic performance and a demonstrated interest in leadership. The scholarship program is funded through a gift from Mary Jo and Richard Stanley of Muscatine, Iowa.
The courses offered as part of the program – LD ST/W S 333, “Women and Leadership,” and LD ST 370x, “Special Topics in Leadership Studies: Global Leadership” – will be taught by leadership studies lecturers Amber Manning-Ouellette and Tara Edberg on the campuses of Stockholm and KTH universities in Stockholm.
“Stockholm, Sweden, was selected for our first study abroad trip in 2015 because of the high percentages of women in public and private leadership positions in that country as well as its progressive public policies,” said Dianne Bystrom, Catt Center director. “Because of the positive feedback from both the faculty and the students who participated in the 2015 and 2016 trips, the program will be returning to Stockholm again in 2017.”
“With the success of the 2015 trip, we decided to expand involvement while in Stockholm and added a volunteer component in 2016,” said Manning-Ouellette, one of the leadership studies lecturers for the 2016 trip who will be returning to Sweden in 2017. “Students are able to serve during the trip, which adds to their leadership identity and global philosophies. In 2017, I am looking forward to traveling with a new colleague, learning more about a new group of students and watching their global perspectives grow,” she said. “This is a critical time in our society to understand the world through an international context. We do this by educating students on how Sweden operates from different political and social perspectives.”
In addition to participating in course instruction, students will learn about the history, culture and public policies of Sweden by visiting such locations as the Royal Palace, Parliament, City Hall, Nobel Museum, Vasa Museum, Nordic History Museum, Living History Forum, the Skansen Open-Air Museum and several non-governmental organizations. They will meet with government officials, including members of the Swedish Parliament and Stockholm City Hall; executives at private companies with gender, leadership and diversity initiatives; and staff of non-profit organizations focused on women’s and global issues. Students will also volunteer at Erikshjälpen Second Hand for two days in Uppsala, Sweden.
“The global leadership study abroad is a great way for students to examine how culture, gender and leadership interact in a number of sectors throughout Sweden,” Edberg said.
The Stanleys, whose generous support helps make this opportunity available to students with financial need through their scholarship fund, also provide primary support for the Archives of Women’s Political Communication, the Carrie Chapman Catt Prize for Research on Women and Politics, the Mary Louise Smith Chair in Women and Politics, and Ready to Run Iowa: Campaign Training for Women.