The Department of Communication offers opportunities to study abroad in Rome, Switzerland and other countries through the Foreign Intrigue Journalism Scholarship. For opportunities outside the department, visit the International Programs and Exchanges site.

Communication Barbados: Rupturing the Narrative: Re-Conceptualizing Communication and Difference in Barbados

What happens when a “minority” passes as a member of the “majority”? What happens when a “majority” group member finds herself standing out as a “minority”? In this summer study abroad in the Eastern Caribbean nation of Barbados, we will re-think, or more accurately, rupture, our narratives of race, beauty, intelligence, culture, politics, and power. Study abroad students will embark upon a Black Cultural Studies analysis to discern the many ways in which Barbados is communicated. By centering our course on Barbadian representations of culture, tourism, and race, students will begin to think globally about the ways in which power operates. We will pay particular attention to the ways in which Blackness is scripted and re-scripted in Barbados, a majority-Black country (with approximately 90 percent of the population having African descent), as opposed to in the United States, a minority-Black country (with approximately 14 percent of the population having African descent). Learn more >>

Rome

Participants in the Communication Rome Program will gain significant skills through living and interacting in a different culture, and experiencing first-hand the excitement of Rome, wellspring of Western civilization and culture. There will be excursions to relevant sites in Rome, and students often make their own travel plans to other parts of Europe over weekends.

During the winter quarter Rome program, based at the UW Rome Center, students earn a total of 15 Communication credits, 12 in COM486 and 3 in COM499.

The UW Rome Center provides a scholarly workplace in the city’s historic district, offering outstanding facilities for academic programs from a wide variety of departments. The Center is located in the Palazzo Pio, a 17th-century palace built on the ruins of the ancient Theater of Pompey. It overlooks the lively, colorful Campo dei Fiori, site of Rome’s largest daily flower and produce market, and is within easy walking distance of the most important monuments in Rome, such as the Vatican and the Roman Forum. Students have accommodations in completely furnished apartments in the vicinity. Learn more >>

Foreign Intrigue Journalism Scholarship

The Journalism Foreign Intrigue Scholarship, created by a journalism alumna, provides funding for journalism internships abroad each summer. UW journalism students have traveled to Cambodia, China, Peru, Indonesia and Sierra Leone. Learn more >>