HAYS, Kan. -- Fort Hays State University has launched two new academic programs with an international focus -- the Global Competencies minor and the Study Abroad Certificate -- in order to prepare students as future global citizens and leaders. Both programs are administered by the Graduate School under the oversight of Dr. Tim Crowley, dean. He also serves as the university's assistant provost for internationalization.

Global Competencies is the university's new undergraduate minor designed to complement any academic major on campus. It is open to any disciplinary major and is constructed around four primary themes of international interest -- business, healthcare, language and culture, and the environment. All thematic areas require the "Seven Revolutions" foundation course currently offered each semester as LDRS 120 Issues in Leadership: Seven Revolutions.

"Seven Revolutions" is a project led by the Global Strategy Institute at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) to identify and analyze the key policy challenges that policymakers, business figures, and other leaders will face out to the year 2025. It is an effort to promote strategic thinking on the long-term trends that too few leaders take the time to consider.
In exploring the world of 2025, seven areas of change are expected to be most "revolutionary":

Population
Resource management and environmental stewardship
Technological innovation and diffusion
The development and dissemination of information and knowledge
Economic integration
The nature and mode of conflict
The challenge of governance

After completing the Seven Revolutions course, students must complete credits with an international focus in the thematic area of choice. For example, international economics for the business thematic area. Then students must complete 10 credits or either study abroad experiences or foreign languages courses.

Finally, students in this minor must complete a project, senior thesis or public presentation related to their international disciplinary work or experiences. Students must apply for admission to this program and meet the following requirements:

Students must have declared a disciplinary major.
Students must have earned 12 undergraduate credit hours.


Students must have a minimum cumulative 2.5 GPA.
Students must have completed LDRS 120 Issues in Leadership -- Seven Revolutions with a grade of C or better.

More information on the program, along with the online application form, can be found at
http://www.fhsu.edu/academic/internationalization/globalcompetencies/.

The Global Competencies minor is the result of two years of work by the university's Internationalization Team -- a committee of faculty members and staff from both the Divisions of Academic Affairs and Student Affairs that advises the provost on internationalization, which refers to the process of becoming international within the university and community. Elements addressed within the scope of the term include, but are not limited to: international recruitment, study abroad, international partnerships, faculty development, international student support and activities, and academic programs with international focus.

The university's Study Abroad Certificate program requires a student to complete a minimum of nine credits of study abroad either as FHSU courses or in the form of transfer credits from an international institution. Students must apply to this program in order to receive this certificate. More information on this program can be found at http://www.fhsu.edu/academic/internationalization/studyabroadcertificate/

"Our students cannot become truly 'World Ready' unless FHSU is 'internationalization ready,' " said Dr. Steven Trout, chair of the Department of English. "We must change our curriculum so that students learn within a global context, and we must give our students opportunities, and incentives, to study in other countries."

"The Global Competencies minor and the Study Abroad Certificate," he said, "represent two important steps in the 'Forward Thinking' transformation of FHSU from a university of the High Plains into a university of the world."