Join Us in Supporting International Program Scholarships for Social Work Students!

Social workers change lives. They meet people where they are, creatively building trusting, empathetic relationships with clients from a wide range of lived experiences that are often different from their own. Few experiences broaden a social worker's personal and professional perspectives like international study. International study introduces students to new ways of thinking about social challenges and gives them insight and experience in communicating with people from other cultures. But considering the large number of first-generation students who are called to social work careers, these international experiences are often financially out of reach. Your donation will make this life-changing opportunity accesible to more students, and will ensure FSU prepares social workers with the global perspective needed to make a difference in our ever-changing world.

International Programs at FSU's College of Social Work

Professor Neil Abell has directed the FSU College of Social Work International Programs since 2011 and is retiring at the end of 2024. Professor Jane Dwyer Lee will step into the role of director next spring to continue in the footsteps of Professor Abell and Professor Patricia Lager, who founded the programs in the 1990s. 

Building on that extensive legacy, Professor Dwyer Lee leads the efforts of FSU CSW faculty and staff in creative programming, providing social work students with the very best opportunities to study and serve abroad.  Through these efforts, students experience international social work on personal, immersive, and interactive levels.

Annually, we send approximately 40 students abroad. Costs range from $1,925 for an Alternative Spring Break experience to $7,795 for a summer program in Prague or $15,000-18,000 for a full semester internship. Many students could not enjoy these experiences without significant financial aid. Your support provides crucial scholarship opportunities, making these programs accessible to as many students as possible each year.

International Program opportunities through the College of Social Work include:

• New Opportunities: A proposed 3-week Study Abroad program in Belfast and Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland
• 5-week Study Abroad program in Prague, Czech Republic
• Full semester Exchange Programs in Sweden for BSW students
• Alternative Spring Break Program in Grenada, West Indies, East Caribbean
• International Field Placements in London, Belfast, Edinburgh, Vancouver

In each of these opportunities, students study and work directly with local organizations to observe and aid local projects, clients, and communities. Students come away with a dramatically broadened sense of the impact of social work services on an international stage. We invite you to join us in supporting these initiatives!