At Hope College, we understand that the world is so much bigger than the few blocks our campus sits on.

The Center for Global Engagement is your home for off-campus study programs and the international student and scholar community. Consider us your connection to campus while you’re abroad and your home away from home if you’re here from afar.

Since our founding in 1990, thousands of students have used the Center for Global Engagement as their jumping-off point to studying off-campus or introduction to life at an American college. Our off-campus roots started in 1956 with the Vienna Summer School, but we’ve been internationally inclined since 1879, when one-third of our graduating class was from Japan!

For many of our students, it’s not the question of if you’ll study off-campus, but when and how it will fit best into your campus life. With over 300 programs to choose from in 60 countries, our office is well-versed in helping you make studying off-campus a priority. For those students we welcome from abroad, it’s our chance to bring a global understanding to all of our local students in our own classrooms.

Our Mission

The Center for Global Engagement encourages students to step beyond borders and connect with the global community.

We aim to integrate the perspectives of international students and scholars into the campus community, to provide off-campus study opportunities for all students and to stimulate conversation surrounding cross-cultural and global issues — all of which contribute to the globalization of the Â鶹ÊÓƵ campus.

Recent Blog Posts

  1. IES vs SIT: pre-departure

    Posted by Kathleen Schnorberger

    For my last couple of blog posts, I thought it would be helpful to break compare and contrast eac...

  2. Culture Shock

    Posted by megankamper

    Scene 1: I’m in a place where I feel like I do not belong. I don’t look like most other peopl...

  3. Navigating Life in a Different Language

    Posted by kadencegrimm

    One of the reasons why I decided to study abroad in France was to improve my French language skil...

  4. Things I’ve Learn Since Living in Spain: The Culture Shocks and not so Culture Shocks

    Posted by avalenting

    2. The cost of living Since day one, I was shocked at how cheap the cost of living in Granada is ...

  5. Living With a French Family

    Posted by kadencegrimm

    As a French minor, I had always leaned towards staying with a host family abroad, however, the de...

  6. Eating good!

    Posted by anabelsietsema

    One way I have been learning about the culture here in Spain is through eating good food. The foo...

Load More Posts
Â鶹ÊÓƵCenter for Global Engagement

workP. 616.395.7605

Hope by the Numbers

  • 300+Off-Campus Study Opportunities

    With semester, year-long and short-term opportunities, you have access to hundreds of off-campus academic study programs in the U.S. and abroad.

  • 60+Countries for Study Abroad

    Hope students participate in study abroad programs in nearly every corner of the world — more than 60 countries across six continents.

  • 30+Countries Represented at Hope

    Students from over 30 countries study at Hope, whether it’s degree-seeking international students, third-culture kids or exchange students from our partner institutions.

  • 51%Students Who Study Off-Campus

    More than half of all Hope students participate in an academic off-campus study program as part of their education. 0% regret it.

    Don't Miss Out