CIC International Collaborative Degree Programs on the Rise

A recent executive brief on Benchmarks and Trends for International Collaborative Degree Programs at CIC Universities highlights that 10 of the 13 CIC universities sponsor a total of 62 collaborative degrees. Of those, 38% are offered with Chinese universities, 11% with Korean universities, and the remaining 50% with 30 various universities in 21 different countries. The top five programs are Business, Engineering, Agriculture, Technology, and Law.

These findings echo the recent Institute of International Education (IEE) report on Joint and Double Degree Programs in the Global Context.   As Daniel Obst, deputy vice president for international partnerships at IEE and one of the report's authors, notes in a Chronicle of Higher Education article, "joint-degree programs "are much more complex to implement and hence are a lot less popular." In some instances, the report notes, local legislation even prevents the establishment of joint-degree programs."

The CIC Senior International Officers (SIOs), who are responsible for providing executive leadership in the global arena for the CIC universities, are working together to lead their respective universities to include a comprehensive international perspective that flows throughout all aspects of the educational experience at CIC universities—including teaching, research and service.  Please visit the CIC Global Collaborations web page for more information on the executive brief, student opportunities, and the efforts of the CIC SIOs.