Study Abroad CAT Communities

(Video Credit: Brooke Biasella, Gibson Hoefgen, Katie Hutson, Ella Jung, Reed Middleton, and Kali Poenitske, Participants of the Global Citizenship CAT Community, Spring 2019)

A Study Abroad CAT Community is a unique, academic experience for first-year students at Kansas State University. These programs provide a dynamic, global learning experience for K-State students at the start of their college experience. Like our other CAT Communities, a small group of students take a group of academic classes together, but they also have the chance to travel abroad together during their first year.

Global Citizenship CAT Community 2019- Reichstag, Berlin The Power of a Learning Community

A Study Abroad CAT Community is a K-State First non-residential Connecting Across Topics (CAT) Communities: it is designed around student interests and offers mentoring from professors and an advanced undergraduate learning assistant who share their students' interests. Unlike most other CAT Communities and other universities' first-year experiences, the Study Abroad CAT Communities include an education abroad component.

Study Abroad CAT Communities combine the transformative power of a guided education abroad experience with academically rigorous courses and social bonding of a K-State First learning community--all within the most important year of students' college careers.

KSU A First-Year Student Opportunity

Any first-year student enrolled full-time at Kansas State University in the fall term may enroll in a Study Abroad CAT Community. Even if you have thirty or more credits at the start of the fall (and therefore technically possess sophomore standing), you may enroll in the program.

The Study Tour

The study tour is a short term experience, typically one to two weeks, on which students travel as a group with the program's instructors and learning assistant. Past program activities have included the challenges of urban public transit, tours of historic and cultural sites, group meals of international cuisines, reflection on places of worship and natural parks, and free time to wander among vibrant city neighborhoods.