Happy Pride!
To kick off Pride Month, we are focusing on resources for the LGBTQIA+ community. We in the TU Study Abroad Office strive to serve and support students of all identities and make our experiences accessible to every TU student. Although the last couple years have been revolutionary with increases in inclusive dialogue and equal representation across the world, there’s always room for more.
Studying abroad and away is a very exciting and potentially anxiety-provoking adventure in general, but it can be possibly more nerve-wracking for LGBTQIA+ students because there are different cultural expectations and norms abroad. Check out the resources for LGBTQIA+ students and many other student identities on the ‘Know Before You Go’ page of our TU website. Below we have several more resources to help ease some of the anxiety you may be feeling so that we can make study abroad or away a reality for you!
For first hand advice, check out this blog from Go Overseas, as well as this blog post from a San Diego State student who was studying in Ecuador during Orlando’s horrific mass shooting at Pulse night club.
For programs that specifically focus on LGBT Studies and Issues, check out GoAbroad.
For information about the social climate and safety in specific countries, check out Diversity Abroad:
- Click on the ‘Destinations’ tab at the top which will take you to location-specific links to more information
- Once you locate the country you’re interested in, scroll down to the Diversity Guide, which will tell you how this country specifically deals with the LGBTQIA+ community
UMD’s Somewhere Over the Rainbow program offers webinars specifically regarding the LGBTQIA+ community in a global/international context. For their schedule of upcoming webinars and links to recordings of past webinars, click here!
Did you know that there are scholarship opportunities specifically for LGBTQIA+ students? GoAbroad did the work for you and listed 12 scholarships that they found to be the most relevant and helpful.
*These are by no means all of the scholarship options. Speak to your Study Abroad Advisor to brainstorm other sources of funding.
Additional information about health and safety abroad for the LGBTQIA+ community and resources can be found through CIS Abroad, who developed a specific initiative, as a part of Generation Study Abroad, to increase access and programming for LGBTQIA+ students.
We understand that this isn’t an exhaustive list and acknowledge that there are many more available resources to access, but we hope that this blog serves as a resource for that anyone can study abroad and have a wonderful experience regardless of their identity.
If you have any suggestions or questions, please feel free to contact the office at studyabroad@towson.edu
