marketing & recruitment

Program leaders should consider how to best recruit students for the course.  Consider marketing strategies, target audiences, and the process – if any – for student application and admission to the embedded program. 

Program leaders are strongly encouraged to cross-list their program as different courses among 2 - 3 different departments in order to expand the pool of potential participants. For example, a course on the Economy of South Africa could potentially be both an Economics and African Studies elective.

• Emails to students in related majors, minors

• Flyers or posters

• Link to a promotional program page on department website

• Classroom visits to related or pre-requisite courses

• Open information sessions

• Provide academic advisors with program information

• Utilizing former student participants as ambassadors for classroom visits/info sessions

• Brief videos/post-trip documentaries

• Dedicated Facebook page and/or social media presence

The EA office organizes an annual Education Abroad Fair in the Fall. Each college has a table, and program leaders are invited to attend and promote their program. If it’s not possible to represent your program at the fair, it’s recommended that the program leader have a flyer available and recruit a colleague or past participant to be at the fair to promote the program. 

Commonwealth campus program leaders can send materials to be placed at information tables. It is the responsibility of the department and the program leader, to promote the program and leaders are strongly encouraged to do additional recruiting beyond the Education Abroad Fair.   

The Education Abroad Team developed an extensive marketing toolkit for program leaders and administrators to use while developing and promoting their programs. Feel free to use any or all of the resources available within the Education Abroad Marketing Toolkit.

There is no centralized study abroad application for student admission to embedded courses, so the ultimate decision for participation in the course is up to the program leader.  Some program leaders choose to utilize a written application and/or interview to determine admission to the embedded program.  Others utilize a “come one, come all” approach until maximum capacity for the course is reached.  The right approach depends on the nature of the course, academic level of coursework and projects, and your expectations as the program leader. 

When selecting students to participate in your program, an interview is recommended so you have the opportunity to get to know the student in person and get a sense for their motivation and commitment to the program.

It is recommended that the course syllabus include expectations for academic achievement as well as student conduct while studying abroad and that it is clear that inappropriate behavior may be considered when evaluating the student or have an impact in their continuation on their program.

Discrimination based on age, race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, creed, service in the uniformed services (as defined in state and federal law), veteran status, sex, sexual orientation, marital or family status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, physical or mental disability, gender, perceived gender, gender identity, genetic information or political ideas is not allowed.  

Please note that if there are specific pre-requisites or other requirements for the course, those should be clearly written and readily available to students during recruitment and enrollment phases.  Students must be able to make an informed choice about whether or not they will be able to complete the program successfully.  

For example, if an embedded biology course requires students to walk 2 miles through uneven terrain to a bog for sample collection, students must be aware of this as the activity may be difficult for some students with mobility impairment. 

If you have any questions about how to address a particular student’s interest in participating on the program, please contact embeddedprograms@psu.edu. 

Students participating in embedded programs are eligible for the Education Abroad Embedded Programs Scholarship. No additional application is required to be completed by students to be eligible for the award. However, in order for students to be considered, the proposer/program leader MUST submit the final roster by the appropriate deadline. Full-time graduate and undergraduate students with a FAFSA on file at all Penn State campuses are eligible for the scholarship. 

Please note: Due to an increasing number of participants in embedded programs, this scholarship is considered highly competitive. Therefore, the likelihood of students obtaining this scholarship has dramatically decreased and students should not have the expectation that they will receive this award. Please encourage your students to make realistic financial arrangements with their current economic situation in mind and to research other funding opportunities (i.e. college or departmental awards, external funding, etc).