Welcome! Thank you for considering UVA as a place to participate in ILET. This page is for faculty staff and students who will be visiting UVA from Europe as part of the ILET project. Click on a topic below for more infomration:

Required Qualifications
Financial Aid
Application procedures
Academic Activities
Travel
Housing
Getting around UVA and Charlottesville
ILET Experiences

What are the qualifications needed to enroll in the ILET program?
Students qualifying to enroll in the ILET program should be registered in doctoral programs in educational technology or multimedia, particularly in teacher education and higher education at the partner universities. However, students with related interests may also be welcome. Students should also demonstrate an interest and a desire to expand their knowledge and practice in intercultural education. ILET aims to support students negotiate an experience complementing their doctoral studies and their own research by linking them with ongoing research and development programs in schools and universities across the Atlantic.Top

Financial Aid

Can I afford it? Is there financial aid available?
ILET will support a total of 30 doctoral students to become ambassadors studying on the other side of the Atlantic in partner universities.

ILET project provides each university with funding for five students to support them to study abroad for approximately one semester in an ILET partner university on the other side of the Atlantic. The travel stipend is 3,000 Euros for European students.Top

Application Procedures

How do I apply for the program?
Each participating ILET university has its own application specifications. Students wishing to apply are encouraged to contact and start negotiations as soon as possible with their home university through the ILET coordinator and their major professor, supervisor, or mentor. The coordinator will introduce students to the coordinators in transatlantic institutions, and to the expertise and opportunities that complement each student’s interests. Top

Academic Activities
Since the ILET program’s objective is to provide you with opportunities to complement your doctoral studies at home it is your decision to structure your experience the way you wish with help from your major professor and ILET coordinators at your home and international sites.

Will I be able to teach at my international institution?
This will also depend upon your visa status and the expertise you bring. Please use your resume and negotiate to market your expertise. Internships are encouraged but they are also challenging.

Are there specific ILET responsibilities?
All students in the relevant doctoral programs of partner universities are expected to facilitate intercultural exchange and promote the aims of this ILET project. This is particularly important for those studying courses on the web or studying abroad.

All students receiving ILET support for study abroad must undertake to complete the ILET certificate and to publish their related portfolio or parts of it on the ILET web site. ILET students studying aboard are particularly important ambassadors for the project and they will be expected to exhibit exemplary professional behavior as far as possible. This will normally include presentations on their intercultural perspectives when abroad and on their return home. It will also include assisting the university coordinators in orientation activities, where relevant.

What are my responsibilities to my home and host university respectively?
Answer: Essentially, ILET students studying abroad will become visiting members of the center or department with the status and responsibility it entails. It may also be considered to be similar to the status of a student teacher on their final placement for teaching practice in schools. The negotiation process should result in a letter of invitation to the department or center and that letter will be an important document with which to obtain the visa.

Will students meet other ILET participants when studying abroad?
Answer:It will not be uncommon for students studying abroad to do so at the same time as a student from another partner university. In addition, attendance at professional conferences, especially the SITE annual conference, should bring together students who study abroad in person or virtually. An intensive course is planned to capitalize on this opportunity for students as part of future SITE conferences. Top

Travel

How do I get there? Charlottesville is less than two hours from Washington Dulles International Airport (airport code IAD.) For more information about options, have a look at the orientation page provided by UVA's School of Law:
Getting to Cville

How do I get around Charlottesville? Both the city and the University provide bus service. You can find more information at Charlottesville Transit Service and at University Transit Service.

What travel documents do I need?
Answer: You will need a passport and a visa for traveling abroad. The ILET project will normally help students studying abroad in the USA and in Europe to gain a short-term (up to 6 months) visa for a visiting scholar. This visa is designed for visiting academics undertaking research and/or teaching occasionally. Please note this visa will not permit students to gain academic credit hours for taking courses from the host university when abroad, although students may sit in on courses. Any course credit hours must be negotiated from the home university.

Will I need health insurance when I travel abroad? Will my current health insurance provided by my university be valid?
All foreign students studying in the U.S. will need to purchase health coverage for their stay in the US. Top

Housing

Where will I stay during my ILET program?
Housing arrangements will be made for you when studying abroad. There are many options, some of which can be seen here: www.offgrounds.com. Zahrl Schoeny, UVA ILET coordinator, will also be able to provide you with more information.

Can I bring my family with me? Could my family or a friend accompany me?
There is no support from the ILET project for family, friends, or partners following the student studying abroad. However, should this be important to you please ask your local coordinator for advice. Top

The Unversity of Virginia and Charlottesville
The campus of UVA (called the Grounds) is centrally located in beautiful Charlottesville, Virginia.
Maps for the grounds http://www.virginia.edu/Map/
Information about Charlottesville http://www.virginia.edu/exploring.html

Links to International Studies Office, International Center, the Center for American English Language and Culture and more (including VISA info):
http://www.virginia.edu/intlstudents.html Top

Site designed by Hugh Crumley
Contents © 2004
URL: http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/centers/ilet/coming.htm
Last modified 16-May-2004