20 Years of Curriculum Integration

20th Anniversary of Curriculum Integration at the University of Minnesota

In the late 1990s, the University of Minnesota (UofM) began a pilot project to test new ways to integrate study abroad into the curriculum. This initiative offered a model for interactions with other academic units. Meanwhile, the leadership of the UofM placed priority on providing international perspectives as part of the undergraduate experience. Past presidents Mark Yudof and Robert Bruininks enthusiastically supported study abroad as one way to integrate international perspectives into the curriculum. Over the last 20 years, undergraduate experience abroad participation has grown from 861 to over 3,000, and learning abroad as a percentage of degrees granted reached 35% in 2019. 

With encouragement from top administrators, the Learning Abroad Center (LAC) pursued grants to fund the development of this model in a way that could be shared with other institutions. The LAC received grants from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) and then the Bush Foundation. The University expanded integration work to nearly every college on all UofM campuses (four at that time). The focus was on the long-term impact that a transformation of study abroad attitudes and behaviors could bring to our institution.

Read more about the 20th anniversary of Curriculum Integration at the University of Minnesota.

History of Curriculum Integration by College

• Carlson School of Management
• College of Biological Sciences
• College of Continuing and Professional Studies
• College of Design
• College of Education and Human Development
• College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resource Sciences
• College of Liberal Arts
• College of Science and Engineering
• School of Nursing

The following interviews highlight the long-term impact that a transformation of study abroad attitudes and behaviors brought to our institution from the perspective of some of the stakeholders essential to the project’s success.

The following interviews highlight the long-term impact that a transformation of study abroad attitudes and behaviors brought to our institution from the perspective of some of the stakeholders essential to the Curriculum Integration Initiative project’s success.