Every year, International Education Week highlights the accomplishments of students and education programs that seek to build a global community. At Florida State’s College of Education, our international students bring unique experiences and diverse voices to enrich our classrooms. We have students from all over the world with more than 50 countries represented, including South Korea, China, Turkey, Canada, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Australia, and India, to name a few.
Students come to the FSU College of Education from all over the world to study in a number of our programs. Part of the reason for this might be because of our outstanding reputation. According to ShanghaiRankings, Florida State has the 16th best college of education program in the world among public universities.
International Educators
The other part of International Education Week focuses on programs that prepare educators for meaningful careers, teaching foreign languages and working with students in classrooms around the world. Our college offers a number of options for those interested in working in classrooms both in America and foreign countries, including the International and Multicultural Education (IME) program and the Foreign and Second Language Education (FSLE) program, as well as the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) certificate.
Zach Whiteside, doctoral student in the FSLE program, reflects that he always wanted to be a teacher of foreign language. “I was extremely lucky to have incredible language teachers growing up, and if it weren't for them, who knows where I would be,” Whiteside says. “Language teaching is special to me because it can give students new perspectives on the world which they may not have had the opportunity to obtain on their own.”
Whiteside says that the faculty in the FSLE program has made a huge difference in his development. “They push me to become the best version of myself every day,” he says. “I have been very fortunate to learn and grow under our knowledgeable faculty members who have diverse research interests and are leaders in their field.”
Discover the Foreign and Second Language Education program at Florida State University.
Going Beyond
Many of our students became interested in international education programs because of ambitions to see more of the world. Brittany Pitts, doctoral student in the IME program, says that after working as a teacher in Brevard County, she knew she wanted to go beyond the normal classroom. “After joining the Peace Corps as a volunteer and spending two years teaching literacy at a primary school in Uganda, I really fell in love with travel and international work,” Pitts says. “This experience also prompted me to witness for the first time the gaps in international development – especially when it comes to education projects. I was motivated to become a part of the solution, rather than the problem.”
If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about international education and potential, Pitts has a suggestion for you: “Go for it! Do what you love and the rest will fall into place.”
Learn more about the FSU International and Multicultural Education program.
