academic info

Since 1979, the Center for Global Education and Experience at Augsburg University has delivered high-impact, experiential programming in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. CGEE programs are designed to learn from communities and groups working for social change to inform thought and action for personal and societal transformation. 

Pedagogy

Commitments

Østfold University of Applied Sciences (formerly know as Østfold Uniersity College) is a state university college with around 7,800 students and 620 employees. In Norwegian, the college is called “Høgskolen i Østfold” (and is abbreviated “HiØ”), so you may see that online and once you arrive in person. 

The university's academic environments are organized into three major faculties: Faculty of Health, Welfare and Organization, Faculty of Teacher Education and Languages, and Faculty of Information Technology, Engineering and Economics. We are located in Fredrikstad and Halden and have a broad study portfolio that ranges from professional education to art education, at both bachelor's, master's and doctoral levels.

The college has an ambitious strategy for the future. The college builds strong research communities, has an interdisciplinary doctoral program "Digitalization and Society", delivers outstanding socially relevant education, and interacts with business and society in both education and research.

The core of the college's operations is to provide students with access to outstanding socially relevant and professionally oriented studies.

We will ensure that students receive a high level of learning and are ready for a working life with rapid changes, both by focusing on quality, investing in technology, infrastructure and new teaching methods. Students will also experience a close connection between theoretical knowledge, professional fields and societal needs, and the college will therefore strengthen its strategic and binding collaboration with the working world.

Although we have a strong regional base, our education is increasingly characterized by an international commitment. It is a stated goal to strengthen educational cooperation with selected national and international educational institutions.

The Center for Global Education and Experience staff in Minneapolis will register you for the following courses:

• Contemporary Nordic Issues in Comparative Perspective (4 credits); student will get to choose credit in either Political Science 332 OR Sociology 332

• Making the Modern Welfare State: Nordic and U.S. Approaches (4 credits); History 359

• Environment, Innovation, and Sustainability: The Nordic Economic Model (4 credits);  student will get to choose credit in either Economics 279 OR Environmental Studies 279

You will also be asked to rank your elective choices from a short list of options taught (in English) by OUC during the semester you will be abroad. These courses are subject to change, and Augsburg CGEE staff cannot guarantee you will be able to register for your first choice. These courses will be for 7.5-10 ECTS; which is generally equivalent to 3-5 U.S. credits.

Students should check in with their home school to see how credits will transfer back.

ECTS: European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS)

Course Add/Drop

Any changes must be made using the Add/Drop Form. No changes will be made without this form. 

Students will take three courses together as CGEE cohort, plus the Global Competency Certificate. These courses are designed to help you understand the Norwegian context and culture, and will all include program excursions to various locations. Brief course descriptions of each below:

• Contemporary Nordic Issues in Comparative Perspective (POL/SOC 332- 4 cr)

  • This interdisciplinary course provides an overview of contemporary Norwegian and Nordic approaches to addressing social issues. Students will learn about the 21st-century challenges that Norway (and other Nordic countries) face and how they address them. Topics will vary depending on the semester.

• Making the Modern Welfare State: Nordic and U.S. Approaches (HIS 359- 4 cr)

  • This course uses social, political, and cultural history to compare the origins and trajectory of welfare states in the United States and the Nordic nations. Readings. discussions, lectures, reflections, research, field trips, and immersion experiences in Norway and in other Nordic nations will illuminate features and failings in social welfare systems, helping students to imagine different futures.

• Environment, Innovation, and Sustainability: The Nordic Economic Model (ECO 279/ENV 279 - 4 cr)

  • This course introduces you to the essential role of economic policy and technological innovation in attaining environmental sustainability. Human wellbeing and economies depend intrinsically on the goods and services that nature generates, for example, on food and water, natural materials, and climate regulation. In the current state of global decline of the environment, the business-as-usual approach is not an option. The course examines nature-smart economic policies and technologies that are beneficial to nature and integrated economic development.

In addition to these three courses and the GCC, all students will select one elective course to take from Østfold University College. Electives may include courses such as:

• NOR111: Norwegian as a Foreign Language: ØUAS Syllabus

• POL 380/BIK 30125: Western Political Thought/BIK30125 Political Theory: ØUAS Syllabus 

• COM 495: Communication Design: ØUAS Syllabus 

• COM 329: Intercultural Communication: ØUAS Syllabus 

• ENT 454: Entrepreneurship in Global Perspective: ØUAS Syllabus 

• International Marketing (course number pending): ØUAS Syllabus 

There are a few computers available in the library, but it is best you students bring your own.

General Academic Information

Explanation of grades, assessment, attendance, etc.