Program Overview
The Wisconsin International Scholars (WISc) program seeks three Faculty Fellows, tenured, tenure-track, or teaching faculty, who are committed to mentoring undergraduate students engaged in multidisciplinary studies focused on globally significant issues and country-specific topics. Founded in 2003, this high-impact program within the International Division welcomes cohorts of approximately 20 incoming freshmen each year, with approximately 70 students this fall. The program is managed by an Associate Director and overseen by the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs in the International Division.
About the Wisconsin International Scholars Program
The WISc program fosters a community of intellectually curious students invested in exploring significant global issues, ideas, and experiences throughout their undergraduate careers, creating a foundation for global engagement and cultural understanding that empowers them to be catalysts for positive change. The program accomplishes this through:
- Community Building: Cultivating small group experiences for students with peers who share interests in global issues, languages, and cultures.
- Global Dialogue: Monthly events and meals that provide opportunities to discuss global issues from a multi-disciplinary perspective.
- Academic Engagement: A cluster of courses including a one-credit, discussion-based seminar for the first-year cohort.
- Personalized Support: Mentorship by faculty and staff to help students integrate global understanding into their education.
- Study Abroad Opportunities: Grants that support participation in approved, credit-bearing study abroad and international internship programs.
Why Serve as a Faculty Fellow?
WISc Scholars are highly motivated students who are eager to explore complex ideas and challenge themselves. Serving as a Faculty Fellow offers faculty the opportunity to mentor undergraduates and to support them in their scholarly and professional endeavors.
Being a Faculty Fellow offers the following:
- Engagement with students from their freshman year through graduation. If your department is looking to increase the number of undergraduate students in certain majors, serving as a fellow offers direct access to undergraduate students.
- Opportunities to forge a mentorship relationship with high-achieving and ambitious undergraduate students. This may be of particular interest to faculty who typically teach large classes and/or graduate student seminars.
- Space to generate ideas on how to incorporate global perspectives and cross-disciplinary teaching into one’s own classrooms.
- Connection with colleagues in other disciplines who are invested in global topics and undergraduate learning.
Why We’re Piloting the Faculty Fellows Model
- Cross-Disciplinary Approach: WISc emphasizes cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary work. We seek faculty members from across the university in the humanities, social sciences, arts, and STEM fields to offer diverse disciplinary viewpoints and introduce students to various modes of inquiry for addressing global challenges.
- Representation of Student Interests: The WISc program is open to incoming undergraduates from across the university. The program seeks to collaborate with professors whose expertise represents the breadth of students’ interests. Currently, there are students in majors in L&S, WSB, SOE, COE, and SOHE.
- Sustainable Faculty Engagement: By distributing responsibilities among three Faculty Fellows, the model ensures that faculty involvement is manageable given other commitments.
Responsibilities
- Mentor Students: Share expertise, research, career journey, and professional connections with the WISc students.
- Shape Program Content: Collaborate with the Associate Director and Associate Dean on identifying themes and developing programming, including selecting reading materials for the spring retreat and identifying campus and community speakers.
- Participate in Key Events: Give one presentation to the WISc group annually, attend three annual signature events (inauguration, spring retreat, and graduation), and participate in four additional events each year. The program aims to have at least two Faculty Fellows present at each event, and the events are held in Ingraham 206 from 6:00-8:00 p.m.
- Teach Core Course: Rotate teaching IS 212, a 1-credit course during the fall semester, once during your fellowship. This foundational course is crucial for freshman students’ integration into the program and for the introduction of core concepts.
- Review Applications: Review approximately 30 WISc applications each February.
- Administrative Engagement: Meet quarterly with the Associate Director and Associate Dean and maintain responsive communication with them.
Qualifications
- Two years of teaching experience at UW-Madison. Note: If in an assistant professor or teaching faculty/professor position, please consult with your department chair before applying.
- Demonstrated commitment to undergraduate education at UW-Madison or other institutions (e.g., teaching undergraduates, hosting undergraduate researchers, leading study abroad programs, facilitating internships, publishing with undergraduates).
- Research with a global focus or framing. Your work need not be inherently international, but it should connect to contexts outside the U.S.
- Team-oriented approach with commitment to collaborative success.
- Strong communication skills.
Compensation & Commitment
We are looking for faculty willing to be involved in the program for 3-4 years. Faculty Fellows will receive $2,000 annually for their contributions to the program, with an additional $3,000 when teaching the IS 212 course.
Application Process
Interested faculty should submit one file electronically that includes a letter of interest, curriculum vitae, and a brief teaching statement. The letter of interest and teaching statement need not be longer than 2 pages each. Please submit these materials to Danille Gaczkowski (gaczkowski@wisc.edu) by Monday, November 10, 2025.
Selection Timeline
Invitations to serve as Faculty Fellows will be extended by January 16, 2026. Faculty Fellows will be invited to join in Fall 2026.
Contact Information
Please contact Kate S. McCleary, PhD, Associate Dean of Academic Initiatives, International Division, with any questions.
Phone: 608-265-2604 Email: mccleary2@wisc.edu