Global Programs and Initiatives

RWU global learning and engagement - on campus, in the regional community, around the world - deepen understanding of global challenges and opportunities, and forge vibrant relationships that transcend national boundaries. 

Student helping a child with a video camera

Study, Service and Work Abroad

Global perspective, knowledge, and experience are key to making the most out of today's globalized opportunities. 

With programs in over 40 countries across six continents, faculty leading short term programs every academic break, and financial aid available for study and service abroad, RWU students explore, engage, and grow as they build vital capacities for making a positive difference in the world.  

With Roger Williams, the world awaits!

Explore Study Abroad Opportunities >

Explore the RWU Abroad Photostream >

Global Partnerships

RWU global partnerships at home and abroad provide outstanding opportunities for both RWU students and faculty to engage in global learning, teaching and scholarship. They also contribute to the development of a global campus community through the international exchange of students and faculty. 

UN Visit

RWU students engage in internships and field programs while studying abroad; travel to New York to visit the United Nations; participate in the annual InterAction Forum, the largest international development and humanitarian response professional conference in the U.S.; engage Rhode Island heritage community members in story-telling projects; and serve local globally oriented organizations in a wide variety of ways. 

Throughout the year, guest speakers, faculty and community round-tables, interest group discussions, practitioner coffee hours, and cultural events provide opportunities to meet others, explore diverse perspectives, examine critical global issues, and pursue solutions for challenges facing the world.

Roger Williams University is committed to the legacy of its namesake, who founded the colony of Rhode Island and Providence plantations as a refuge for those fleeing persecution.  With this guiding principle, RWU considers the context of global refugee movements, contemporary and historical, bringing a human lens to bear in consideration of the quest for refuge, and those who have undergone this quest globally, and locally in Rhode Island.

> Celebrating the Quest for Refuge Through the Power of Story- Dr. Dahliani Reynolds, Professor of Writing Studies, Rhetoric, and Composition, and Kate Greene, Director of International Program Development, collaborated to develop community engaged pedagogy that led to Multimodal Writing for Public Spheres students working with local community members forced to flee their native lands to tell their stories of loss, opportunity, and building new homes in Rhode Island.

Working with refugee community

> Living in Limbo: Stateless Identities - Students in Professor Cathy Nicoli’s Advanced Choreography course explored the “Quest for Refuge” through dance, creating the installation “Living in Limbo: Stateless Identities” as a way to deepen consideration of the global refugee crisis.

Dance performance

Additional resources about The Quest for Refuge >

WaterFire volunteers
Two Chinese students volunteer with internationally-known arts festival Waterfire.

Global mobility of students and faculty is a valued part of RWU culture.  International students and scholars are welcomed in the RWU community, and have the opportunity not just to study at RWU, in the beautiful, bay-side town of Bristol, but to explore the entire Northeast region of the United States. 

International Student Admissions >

International Student Services >

International Visiting Faculty and Scholars >

 

 

 

RWU faculty build collaborations and develop expertise across borders with partners around the world.  Many departments offer disciplinary-specific global opportunities such as those offered by The Department of Anthropology+Sociology in Latin America and Europe

RWU is pleased to host Fulbright Scholars from other countries, and proud of our faculty and administrators who serve as Fulbright Ambassadors abroad through Fulbright Scholar Exchange initiatives administered by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES).

A professor at the Camino Dos Escravos

Join us, explore the world, and expand your horizons!

Person hiking mountaintop