To recruit and support the success of its international students, Kent State provides many programs and resources throughout the university, including the following:
International Admissions
Based in the Office of Global Education, International Admissions supports Kent State University’s goal to engage the world beyond its campuses. It recruits academically talented and culturally diverse international students, evaluates credentials received from institutions abroad, advocates on behalf of international applicants, facilitates international credit transfer and enhances administrative systems to smooth the process for international students to come to Kent State.
“Having been an international student myself, I have developed a passion for helping international students and their families find their home away from home at Kent State University,” says Salma Benhaida, director of International Recruitment and Admissions and Sponsored Student Services. Fluent in English, Arabic and French, she came to Ohio as a student from Morocco. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The University of Akron and is pursuing a doctorate in education at Kent State.
“Moving to the United States has enabled me to understand some of the challenges international students face on their study abroad journey,” Benhaida says. “My goal is to make the application and admission process as stress free and welcoming as possible.”
Learn more about International Admissions.
Sponsored Student Services
More than 30% of international students enrolled at Kent State are partially or entirely supported by governments (U.S. or foreign), international organizations, public or private companies and other third-party entities. Countries represented by sponsored students include Brazil, Ecuador, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Namibia, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.
“Kent State University benefits from having sponsored students on campus as much as the students do,” says Stacie Ansley, senior international admissions coordinator. “My sponsored students have exposed me to parts of the world I have only seen in my dreams.”
Based in the Office of Global Education, Sponsored Student Services serves as a central point of contact for (and liaison among) sponsoring agencies, sponsored students and several offices across the university.
Learn more about Sponsored Student Services.
International Student and Scholar Services
Based in the Office of Global Education, International Student and Scholar Services is a resource for maintaining students’ immigration status, acclimating them to the United States and dealing with other issues international students face.
It strives to provide personalized support and make all international students feel connected to the university community well before they arrive in the United States—and for years after they return to their home country. International Student Orientation begins 10 weeks before students arrive at Kent State and includes a virtual course with short modules introducing students to everything they’ll need while at Kent State, along with a GroupMe chat monitored by International Student Orientation leaders who answer international students’ questions in real time.
The International Student and Scholar Services team assists students through the entire process, from obtaining their visas to securing transportation from the airport. Once students arrive on campus, advisors meet personally with every international student to ensure they are adjusting, learning and connecting while at Kent State.
“The international character of Kent State University is in large part made possible by our more than 1,600 students from nearly 100 different countries,” says Jef Davis, associate director of International Student and Scholar Services. “The International Student and Scholar Services team is here to help our international students and scholars navigate the university and U.S. culture. Our goal is to help them feel that Kent State University is not just a place they are visiting but is truly their ‘home away from home.’”
International students can make new friends through programs and events hosted by International Student and Scholar Services, including the monthly Cultural Café (where international students present information about their home countries to other students, faculty and staff, often including traditional songs or dances) and the International Cook-Off (a competition each semester in which teams cook and serve food from their home countries). The cook-off is hosted by the Office of Global Education and supported by Kent State Dining Services.
Learn more about International Student and Scholar Services.
Office of International Student Affairs
Kent State’s Division of Student Affairs includes the Office of International Student Affairs, which aims to aid in the retention and academic success of international students by providing services related to cultural adjustment and a sense of belonging. Additionally, it implements strategies to help domestic students develop a global mindset and desire to study abroad.
The office facilitates two signature events each year: Homecoming International Celebration (an opportunity for international students to showcase their home countries and cultures during Homecoming Weekend) and International Talent and Fashion Show (an opportunity for international students to model traditional attire and participate in cultural performances each spring).
“The Office of International Student Affairs is devoted to being a support on campus for international students and domestic students alike,” says Ash Mierau, interim director. “We help international students adjust to life in America and feel at home at Kent State, integrate global perspectives and build intercultural relationships that accurately reflect the wonderfully diverse community we have at Kent State.
“We do this through programs like the Global Village, a living-learning community for international and domestic students to intentionally live together; Conversation Partners, a program that pairs international and domestic students to meet once a week; and Res Airways, a biweekly program that lets international students teach students, staff and faculty about their home country—as well as many others.”
Learn more about the Office of International Student Affairs.
International Student Organizations
To support services, events and activities that benefit Kent State international students, the Office of Global Education collects a fee from international students each semester. A portion of those funds is available to international student organizations with a membership majority of international students. They can apply to use the International Student Event Fund for conducting activities and events that promote international understanding, facilitate interaction between cultures and enhance participation in university-wide events.
Kent State’s Division of Student Affairs includes a Center for Student Involvement where international students can discover a number of student organizations to join, including those focused on specific cultures and countries.
Learn more about international student organizations at International Student Organizations and Center for Student Involvement.
The Gerald H. Read Center for International and Intercultural Education
The Gerald H. Read Center for International and Intercultural Education in the College of Education, Health and Human Services was created in 1987 through an endowment established by Professor Emeritus Gerald H. Read. Consistent with Kent State’s strategic commitment to global cooperation, the center was designed to examine curricular issues related to international and intercultural education, to facilitate international student and scholar programming, to support exchange and research projects with an international and/or intercultural focus, and to support faculty-led education abroad in the college.
The Read Center has been the recipient of several federally supported grants and international scholar programs over the years. Sponsored through the U.S. Department of State, more than 350 international grantees from all over the globe have come to Kent State University through the International Leaders in Education Program as well as the Fulbright Teaching Excellence and Achievement in Media Literacy Program.
Moreover, the Read Center, in its commitment to international exchange and scholarship, has hosted more than 200 visiting scholars from around the world, through the Aggarwal-Blackburn Visiting Scholars program. This program provides support for scholar acculturation and research via seminars and faculty mentorship while also introducing the Kent State community to new and culturally diverse scholarship. Finally, the center establishes linkages with stakeholders across Kent State and abroad in order to promote university internationalization and extend its impact.
“The Read Center is a peerless entity on the Kent Campus in that it acts as a catalyst for the advancement of international and intercultural education in diverse, interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary ways,” says Amanda Johnson, PhD, who became director of the center in 2020. “From leading and developing important relationships with international universities to supporting international education principles and practices with our local community educators, the center is in an incomparable position to lead the way for internationalization of the college and subsequently, the university as a whole.”
Learn more about the Gerald H. Read Center for International and Intercultural Education.