国产传媒

Mount Saint Mary’s University, Los Angeles, is one of 34 US colleges and universities to receive a grant from the U.S. Department of State’s Increase and Diversify Education Abroad for US Students (IDEAS) program, which aims to develop and expand study abroad programs around the world.

The grant will support curriculum development in the humanities, the establishment of new university partnerships in Chile and Kenya, and the creation of faculty training materials that will help ensure safe and effective global learning experiences for women of color and the LGBTQIA+ community at the Mount. This two-year development grant, “Women Crossing Boundaries and Borders: Women’s Empowerment and Global Experiential Learning,” will result in project-based, virtual exchange embedded courses that will culminate in faculty-led trips to Chile and Kenya.

“This grant will support our humanities programs as we continue to expand international university partnerships and research networks as well as create unique, high-impact undergraduate learning and research experiences that highlight the Mount's commitment to a liberal arts education that prepares our students for a competitive global job market,” said Lia Roberts, PhD, chair of the history and political science department and academic director of the Center for Global Initiatives.

Roberts will lead the program’s interdisciplinary team formed by professors Therese Fassnacht, DMA, associate professor and chair, music department; Nancy Ballesteros, MA, assistant professor, modern languages and culture department; Matthew Brosamer, PhD, chair, English department; Arely Acuña, PhD, director of the Center for Equity, Diversity and Justice; and Kim Tran, PhD, administrative assistant for the music department, the history and political science department and the Center for Global Initiatives.

Based on the State Department’s women’s empowerment goal, the project will connect the Mount’s Women and Gender Studies major to two new interdisciplinary courses: “Women, Culture and the Arts in Kenya,” which will be co-developed with music department faculty , and “Women’s Voices: Gender and Discourse in Chile,” which will be co-developed with faculty from the Modern Languages and Culture and English departments. The new courses will launch in the 2025-26 academic year.

Of the 34 selected colleges and universities, eight are community colleges and 13 are minority-serving institutions. The IDEAS Program contributes to the State Department’s diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility efforts to engage the American people in foreign policy. 

“Increasing and diversifying US students going abroad for educational opportunities, as well as diversifying the places where they study, is a State Department priority,” said Lee Satterfield, assistant US secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs. “This year’s recipients reflect the true greatness of America – our diversity – as almost 25% represent two-year institutions, 40% represent minority-serving institutions, and 25% represent rural-serving institutions.”

Since 2016, the IDEAS Program has awarded 179 grants to 173 US colleges and universities in 49 states and territories to create, expand, and diversify their study abroad programs in 71 countries across all world regions. In addition to the IDEAS grants, the program offers opportunities for international educators at American  colleges and universities to participate in free virtual and in-person study abroad capacity-building activities. 

The IDEAS Program is a program of the U.S Department of State with funding provided by the United States government and supported in its implementation by World Learning, a nonprofit that focuses on international development, education and exchange programs. For a full list of 2023 IDEAS grantees, as well as information on upcoming IDEAS webinars and workshops, please visit .