The Carolina experience doesn't necessarily have to start in Chapel Hill. For some Tar Heels, it begins with a semester abroad.
Carolina Global Launch enables first-year students to study abroad at a partner university during their fall semester and then enroll at Carolina in the spring. Through the program, students immerse themselves in a new culture, earn credits toward their Carolina degrees and get to know other new Tar Heels.
The University of Stirling is ranked first in the U.K. and fifth in the world for its campus environment and offers internationally recognized programs in philosophy, education and psychology. The 310-acre campus features its own loch and castle, and the city itself buzzes with a lively, student-friendly energy.
At the University of Granada, Tar Heels can discover Spain’s rich heritage and practice their Spanish language skills in the heart of Andalucía. During its almost 500 years of existence, Universidad de Granada has become a major intellectual center in southern Spain.
Located on the historic River Shannon, the University of Limerick’s idyllic campus is the perfect setting for an Irish adventure. Coursework at the university includes a wide range of humanities-based and STEM classes on a modern yet historic campus.
My parents commented that since my return, I seem like a different person. I’ve grown so much from this experience, and now I’m always ready to do the next big thing.
Melanie Carmichael, 2021 Carolina Global Launch participant
You’ll grow so much as a person, and you’ll come back feeling really happy like I did. I just kept saying ‘yes,’ and I had a profound, amazing experience.
Sartaj Jhooty, 2021 Carolina Global Launch participant
Learn about more Tar Heels' Carolina Global Launch experiences
The Global Guarantee is Carolina’s commitment that a global education — from study abroad to Collaborative Online International Learning courses to virtual global research and internships — is available to all students.
The growing success of COIL exemplifies how the Office of the Vice Provost for Global Affairs advances Globalize, the seventh initiative in the University’s strategic plan, by bolstering the initiative’s second objective, the Global Guarantee, which promises that a global education is available to all Carolina students.
The Galápagos Islands have been a haven for researchers since Charles Darwin first set foot there in 1835, and Carolina students have the opportunity to follow in that tradition by studying at the Galapagos Science Center — a collaboration between Carolina's Center for Galapagos Studies and the Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador.