Advising African American Students for Education Abroad

Fundamentals of Advising

Course Description

African American/Black college students have racial and ethnic identities that span the Diaspora, including Black/African descent, African American, Afro-Caribbean/Caribbean, Afro-Latino/a, Creole, Afro-Country of origin-specific, biracial/multiracial, and so on.

This e-learning short course explains the ways African-American, or black students self-identify, and offers insights into the evolving dynamics influencing black students’ experiences in US higher education.

Through this course, you will gain a greater insight into the:

Participation rate of black students in education abroad programs
Evolving dynamics influencing black students’ experiences abroad
Real and perceived barriers to greater participation in education abroad
Cross-cultural advantages many black students take abroad

Please note that all Diversity Abroad Short Courses are available for 7 days after purchase. Check out our Frequently Asked Questions for additional information.

About the instructor

Director of Diversity Recruiting & Advising, IES Abroad

Gretchen Cook-Anderson

Gretchen Cook-Anderson is the award-winning Director of Diversity Recruiting & Advising at IES Abroad. Gretchen oversees IES' Initiative to Diversify Education Abroad (IDEA), the organization's effort to increase enrollment and enhance the study abroad experience of students of diverse and underrepresented identities. She is a marketing and PR professional with 11 years of experience in international education marketing and 23 years experience in the marketing field overall. An IES Abroad alum (Japan) herself, she holds a Bachelor's degree from Spelman College in political science and a Master's degree in international economics from Johns Hopkins University's Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Over the last 6 years, her efforts have led to 91.6% growth in participation among ethnically-diverse students in IES Abroad programs. Her work garnered the Diversity Abroad EDIE Award in 2014 and 2016.