The University of Memphis has hosted Tennessee’s Governor’s School for International Studies (GSIS) for 40 years, including this year’s June 6-27 session thanks to a $245,000 grant from the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE).
The GSIS program, held exclusively at the UofM campus since 1986, is one of 11 statewide discipline-specific residential programs hosted by Tennessee universities. The annual award from TDOE covers the full cost of operating the program — including student housing, meals, tuition, programming, faculty and guest speakers — at no cost to participants. This specific program focuses on international and global studies with a curriculum that spans political, economic, cultural and social systems of the world and provides students with a rigorous introduction into the interdisciplinary field of international studies.
For three weeks each June, 50 students chosen from a pool of more than 300 applicants come to the UofM campus for a full immersive residential experience. Dr. William Thompson, associate professor of French in the College of Arts and Sciences, directs both the International and Global Studies program and the Governor’s School for International Studies, a role he has held for the past four years. The GSIS is “a tremendous program. It does get the University visibility across the state. It is a very competitive program to get into and it has an excellent reputation,” Thompson said.
Students receive academic credit for coursework completed during the session. The curriculum contains an introductory International Studies course and introductory level language course as well as an International Perspectives class in which faculty-selected topics are explored through small-group discussion. The afternoon and evenings focus on activities — including Model UN, excursions to Overton Park and the Memphis Zoo, the National Civil Rights Museum and guest speakers and movie nights, Thompson explained.
“We want to keep them active, and these opportunities let students with similar interests connect,” he said. “Students went to the zoo and they had the opportunity to have a behind the scenes tour of how our zoo operates and cares for exotic animals from around the world.”
With only a 20% acceptance rate, students partake in a rigorous application process that includes two personal essays, resume, activity list and teacher and school counselor recommendations. They must also submit a high school transcript.
“We’re looking for students who have shown interest [in international studies] through the courses they take and the activities they are involved in that perhaps possess an international mindset,” Thompson said, adding that due to the competitive nature of the program most participants have an A average in their coursework.
Thompson noted that many students in the GSIS program are in honors classes, AP courses, or dual enrollment classes. GSIS adds a layer of real college preparation that most high schoolers don’t get until they arrive on campus.
“For many of them, it’s the first time away from home for an extended period. They’re having to figure out their time management skills, their organizational skills,” he said.
Residential counselors — many whom are current UofM students, and some are alumni of the GSIS program — provide current Governor’s School attendees a well-rounded experience on campus.
All of the UofM faculty and staff who work for the program last year are working in this year’s program, and some of them have been coming back for decades to be part of Governor’s School because it is such an extraordinary program. “They develop friendships and professional relationships from the program that last a very long time,” Thompson said.
Many students who participated in the program over the years have majored in international studies. One program alum from Jackson, Tenn., is in the U.S. Foreign Service. Others have gone into a variety of fields, Thompson noted, including politics and higher education.
“All of the students in the program — whether they have a focus on international studies or not — bring an international focus to their career. I think that makes [the program] a tremendous success.”
The world is more connected now than before with the internet and social media available worldwide. An emphasis on international competency is becoming important in every field, Thompson explained. The University’s consistent role as GSIS host positions the UofM as an institution that understands the value of global awareness and acknowledges the various international perspectives that are ever evolving and changing.
“It’s really important for us to inform students on how the world functions, and to have conversations about what exactly is going on in the world right now and why is that happening.” The perspective classes provide students with different focus topics — politics, humanities, economics and environmental — in which the small groups use that lens to evaluate a topic and discuss impacts.
The GSIS program is important to show students a broader perspective on the world outside of their schools, communities, Tennessee and even the United States.
“We have a lot of students, who have not perhaps had the opportunity to travel abroad or learn a lot about the world outside their community. We have students who are first- or second-generation immigrants to the United States, or who otherwise have connections to family or to other places around the world. But a lot of them come here without that experience, so I think it works well with both groups because you have some who can bring in their personal perspectives on how they see the world, but there are others who come and say this is something I just can’t experience because of where I live,” he said.
“It really is an extraordinary program,” Thompson said. Students have an opportunity to experience a global context and broaden their personal perspectives.
