The agreement expands study abroad opportunities in Portugal for Students

Fresno State President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval and Dr. Michael Baum, executive council for the Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD), met Monday morning, March 20, in the Table Mountain Rancheria Reading Room and signed a study abroad agreement creating a new study abroad pathway through the Study in Portugal Network. The program will allow Fresno State students to study for a year, a semester or a summer at partner universities in Portugal. 

“Learning another language and becoming active in someone else’s culture expands our students’ understanding of their own potential as visionary leaders,” said Dr. Jiménez-Sandoval. “A seminal part of my own educational journey was through Universidade de Lisboa —an experience that promoted academic, emotional, and mental growth that defines me to this day. Through this pathway, our students will have the opportunity to forge their own transformational experience in Portugal.”  

Students will be able to take classes taught in English or Portuguese in social sciences and humanities, business, economics, STEM and other academic disciplines while living in Lisbon and experiencing Portuguese culture.

“FLAD is thrilled to have this opportunity to celebrate with Fresno State and the larger Fresno community the partnership agreement that recognizes FLAD’s efforts to bring Fresno State students to Portugal through our Study in Portugal Network program,” said Dr. Baum. 

The new pathway is run through the Study Abroad office in the Division of Continuing and Global Education. The Study Abroad office provides students with individualized and group advising services to identify their learning goals, assist in choosing programs and make necessary plans and arrangements. Coordinators say students returning from their study abroad programs often report life-changing experiences.

“Study Abroad is one of Fresno State’s high-impact practices: those university experiences that students carry with them for the rest of their lives. High-impact practices are linked to university retention, graduation rates and overall student success,” said dean Scott Moore, Division of Continuing and Global Education.  

Students interested in the program can apply now for the Fall term in the Study Abroad office.

Founded in 2014, the Study in Portugal Network partners with four Lisbon-based universities to host students and faculty from the United States. They provide housing in downtown Lisbon, health and safety support, guided field trips, monthly city transportation costs, and a robust cultural orientation and mentoring program. During the summer program, students also have the option to attend the University of the Azores at its Ponta Delgada campus. 

The Study in Portugal Network is managed by FLAD, a non-profit organization that aims to promote the development of Portugal in cooperation with the United States. FLAD is a member of the US State Department’s Gilman Scholarship Program, recognized as one of its seven global partners. The Study in Portugal Network’s primary objective is to provide affordable study abroad opportunities to students with Pell Grants. Even students who do not receive Pell Grants can benefit from the SiPN program, which, they say, offers a more cost-effective option than similar European programs.

FLAD has already worked to enrich the student experience at Fresno State and celebrate Portuguese culture in Central California. In 2018, a FLAD grant funded a Portuguese-American Oral History Project and a speaker series through the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute at Fresno State. Since then, FLAD has continued to support the institute’s programs. 

The Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute is a product of the College of Arts and Humanities, the College of Social Science, and the Jordan College of Agricultural Science and Technology, designed to support multidisciplinary scholarship related to the Portuguese-American experience in Central California and the Lusophone cultures.