Global Understanding

The Global Understanding course is taught in a shared virtual classroom with students and faculty from more than 40 institutions, in approximately 25 countries. Daily live videoconference discussions, chats, and collaborative student projects provide personal, global experiences that open student perspectives about other cultures and build the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to thrive in a global multicultural society.

  • Work with 3 partner countries for approximately 4-5 weeks each over the course of the semester.
  • Offered through 9 departments on campus: ANTH, COMM, ETHN, ENGL, FORL, HMGT, POLS, PSYC, SOCI. Each course has a common core format overlaying a discipline specific foundation.
Award for campus internationalization
  • Most courses fulfill the Global Diversity requirement and either the Social Science or Humanities requirement.
  • After taking the course, students demonstrate increased perspective taking and decreased intercultural communication anxiety.
  • Approximately 500 ECU students and 1500 students at partner institutions around the world participate in the Global Understanding Course each year.
  • Interested departments may develop their own Global Understanding Course in collaboration with Global Academic Initiatives.
See what Global Understanding Courses are being offered this semester.