About the Office
The UCLA Office of International Studies and Global Engagement, or the UCLA International Office, has a dual mandate: it champions the study of the world at UCLA and represents UCLA to the world.
Headed by the Vice Provost for International Studies and Global Engagement, the office is responsible for UCLA’s global strategy and engagement. The office manages UCLA’s partnership agreements with foreign institutions, represents UCLA to international constituencies and organizations, hosts foreign delegations and dignitaries, promotes international education and exchange on campus and oversees the UCLA International Institute.
Global Engagement. The Vice Provost for International Studies and Global Engagement functions as UCLA’s unofficial “secretary of state,” with a “diplomatic portfolio” that encompasses the many ways in which UCLA engages with the world. In consultation with faculty, departments and schools across campus, her office develops and implements UCLA’s global strategy and plays an important role in promoting and maintaining the UCLA global brand.
The International Office plans international trips for senior university leaders to strengthen and/or create research and education partnerships, recruit top-ranked students and faculty, cultivate supporters, strengthen and expand the UCLA global alumni community and fundraise on behalf of all UCLA divisions and professional schools. The Vice Provost works closely with the UCLA Europe Office in London.
In addition, the office actively builds UCLA’s global presence by supporting overseas networks of alumni and creating new strategic international programs. Among its innovations are networking and educational events that bring together Bruins, university partners and local leaders in countries around the world to discuss issues of local, regional and global concern.
The International Office also manages the university’s roughly 192 research, teaching and student exchange agreements with institutions in 47 countries and regions. It also represents UCLA in major global associations, such as the Association of International Education Administrators and the Association of Pacific Rim Universities, as well as at major international educational conferences.
The office facilitates requests to participate in international partnerships and initiatives and provides regional expertise and contacts to UC administrators and UCLA faculty upon request. And as a service to the university community, the International Office maintains the UCLA Global website: a one-stop online resource about the university’s international activities, faculty and students.
On campus, the International Office serves as UCLA’s gateway to the world, arranging campus visits of educational, cultural and political delegations. It regularly hosts senior foreign representatives, including heads of states, ambassadors and consuls general.
International Education. Given the increasingly interconnected nature of the world, international education is more important than ever. The UCLA International Office has a campus-wide vision to enable all UCLA students to graduate as globally proficient citizens. It works with the leadership of UCLA’s schools, divisions and professional schools to internationalize the UCLA curriculum to prepare our students to be successful global citizens in today’s complex world.
A major priority of the Vice Provost is to help as many UCLA students as possible gain international experience and a global perspective in their field of study. She has been actively involved in fundraising for study abroad scholarships and graduate fellowships.
Undergraduates may study abroad for a semester or an academic year, attend a summer travel study program or pursue an internationally oriented internship (for credit) with a business or nonprofit organization. They may also become fluent in a foreign language, learn about the cultures and histories of nations worldwide, forge friendships with international peers and participate in student organizations focused on global engagement.
Graduate students must frequently achieve proficiency in foreign languages and conduct research in those languages in countries and regions worldwide. They may also participate in summer research exchanges in another country or take courses that give them the intercultural communication skills needed to work in global teams.
The Vice Provost promotes study abroad and international internship programs and appoints the faculty director of the UCLA International Education Office (IEO). She also champions graduate fellowships, as well as the participation of international scholars in the activities of UCLA schools and divisions and campus life as a whole. The International Office, for example, hosts the Visiting Fulbright Scholar Enrichment Program for the Los Angeles metropolitan region and works closely with the UCLA Study Abroad/IEO and the Dashew Center for International Students and Scholars.
Each November, the Vice Provost organizes a high-profile, campus-wide event at UCLA: International Education Week (IEW). Held on college campuses nationwide throughout the United States, IEW is a weeklong celebration of international education and exchange. From student performances to an evening devoted to a Global Conversation, the week showcases UCLA’s considerable international education resources and brings together student associations and study abroad and international students to learn more about UCLA's degree programs in international studies and internationally oriented centers.
The week is typically cosponsored by multiple schools, divisions and administrative offices of UCLA.
UCLA International Institute
The UCLA International Institute is the “jewel in the crown” of international education at UCLA. It offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in international studies, promotes scholarship on the world’s diverse regions and serves as a campus and community resource.
With a history dating back to 1958, the Institute houses more than 28 centers and programs that support innovative multidisciplinary research on specific world areas, as well as pressing global issues. Its rigorous academic programs in global studies, international development, global health, international migration, and country- and regionally oriented studies consistently attract excellent students.
The Institute’s public events program — which offers roughly 250 public lectures, symposia, conferences and cultural events each academic year — gives both the UCLA campus and the global city of Los Angeles direct access to the latest research on global developments and world regions.
The breadth and depth of its research interests make the International Institute a valuable partner to its home city. The institute has numerous links to Los Angeles, including close relationships with international organizations, businesses, Hollywood content creators and the many consulates general located in the city. The vice provost, for example, serves as an adviser to the nonprofit organization, Sister Cities of Los Angeles.
For more detailed information about the UCLA International Institute, please visit its website.
Updated January 2024