International Scholars

The College of Education provides professional development for groups of graduate students or scholars from universities around the world.

Opportunities for Individual Scholars

The College of Education will also provide international scholars with the opportunity to research on campus. The international scholar may contact the Coordinator of Internationalization to express an interest so that an appropriate faculty mentor may be identified, according to research interests. Please email Barbara Meyer to inquire.

International Scholars and K-12 School Observations

International scholars must follow the guidelines and timelines of the Office of International Studies and Programs.

In addition to the requirements listed by the Office of International Studies, if an international scholar wishes to observe in a public school, the scholar will need to work with the Associate Dean in the College of Education to identify a school (or schools) before traveling to the university to determine the procedure to obtain permission from the given school.

Many Illinois schools and school districts require a US criminal background check prior to observation or other type of visit. The Associate Dean will work with the scholar to identify the purpose of the observation and communicate with the school and school district to assist with obtaining the appropriate permissions. The approval process to observe in schools can take anywhere from 30 to 60 days.

If the scholar wishes to conduct research in the public school, the scholar will need to work with a mentor Illinois State faculty member to get approval to conduct research through the University’s Internal Review Board (IRB). The faculty mentor should request IRB approval before the international scholar comes to Illinois State University. This means the international scholar must describe the research project and activities to the faculty mentor via email and Skype. The approval process generally take 4 to 12 weeks.