About 'Study USA' |
This unique and ground-breaking programme promises to challenge and excite, whilst encouraging stronger ties between Northern Ireland and the USA. |
'Overall, the purpose of Study USA is to produce graduates with an international, business-orientated perspective who will be capable of eventually making a contribution in advancing the Northern Ireland economy.'
The 'Study USA' scholarship provided by the British Council NI is a wonderful opportunity to experience life a new country and to study and grow in a new environment. The programme, which has its origins in the Peace Process and developed by the Inter-Church Committee on Northern Ireland, has recently celebrated its 20th anniversary and continues to be supported by the American and Northern Irish governments. It enables penultimate year undergraduate students from any degree discipline to study Business at an American college in order to develop business, communication and leadership skills in a new environment for implementation back in Northern Ireland.
Study USA enjoys a strong profile in the USA. The White House endorsed the work of the programme in promoting cross-community shared experience via a letter written by President Bill Clinton in March 1995 to the Reverend Henry Postel, a member of the Inter-Church Committee on Northern Ireland.
The programme was originally established as the Business Education Initiative, or the BEI in 1994 and quickly became successful as an innovative educational experience, providing a rich platform to exchange both culture and history from Northern Ireland and the US in and out of the classroom.
The participating colleges belong to one of the following associations:
- Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities
- Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities
- General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of United Methodist-Related Schools
As detailed on the relevant section of the British Council NI's website, there are numerous aims of the programme which are as follows:
- To develop the academic and applied skills of driven, talented students in the field of business,
- To enable these students to understand the opportunities in international business, and
- To assist in community (especially cross-community) building in Northern Ireland by expanding the horizons of young people in a new culture setting.
Students who are selected for the programme are expected to fulfil several criteria, in addition to becoming involved on campus, participate in student organisations and engage in voluntary and leadership activities. These include:
- Achieving at least a 3.0 GPA in both semesters and cumulatively at the end of the year,
- Studying 15 credits worth of Business and Finance classes per semester,
- Performing an ambassadorial role by undertaking five presentations across the year relating to Northern Ireland, e.g. on history, culture, sports, politics etc. to be signed off by the student's International Advisor at their college,
- If possible, to acquire an internship whilst abroad,
- Completing a Personal Development Portfolio (PDP) report of 2,000 words and multimedia component for the British Council NI about the experiences, challenges and skills encountered and acquired, and
- Completing a Business project on a topic of the student's choice for the student's home university (a maximum of 5,000 words).
I am pleased to confirm that I satisfied all of the above criteria.
I achieved a 3.4 GPA for my Autumn Semester and a 3.575 GPA for my Spring Semester; with a cumulative GPA of 3.5. I was content with these academic performances as I was studying modules which I had no previous experience in (namely Business, also PR and the legal modules were pertaining to a different jurisdiction) whilst also undertaking an internship, volunteering, participating in student organisations and engaging in Greek Life through my sorority.
I decided to vary the style in which I delivered my presentations at Coe. As such, I completed the following:
- Discussing my university, differences/similarities in education and a comparative of student life in Northern Ireland/Europe to interested students at the Study Abroad Fair at Coe.
- Presenting to Coe Review and also writing a blog post regarding my initial thoughts whilst living abroad, cultural differences between the US and NI in relation to college and student life.
- Presenting to Coe Review and also writing a blog post relating to differences in education, exam format, assessment and holidays between the US and NI.
- Participating in the 'With Hammer in Hand' programme for Habitat for Humanity at Coe. I discussed 'home', Northern Ireland and what it meant to me.
- International Student Banquet: I cooked and served boxxy pancakes to American guests, discussing the history and significance of the dish e.g The Great Famine.
This website was created to fulfil the multimedia element for my PDP report; the written component can be found under the relevant page of this website.
The Business report which I am currently undertaking for Queen's is to examine the operation of and the law surrounding payday loan companies in the USA and the UK and to provide a legal assessment of both jurisdictions via a comparative approach.
For more information on Study USA, please visit the following websites:
British Council NI (Study USA webpage)
Department for Employment and Learning Northern Ireland (main website)
Department for Employment and Learning NI 'Skills for Success'
UPDATE: As of the 29th October 2015, I have officially graduated from the Study USA scholarship class of 2014/2015.
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