Dear Puget Sound Faculty, Staff, and Students,

In recognition of the special opportunity the PacRim Program has long offered Puget Sound students, the PacRim Program is evolving to bring the program more in line with student needs, institutional priorities related to access and equity, and contemporary approaches to international education, while still continuing to honor the vision of PacRim’s founder, Bob Albertson.

In order to be responsive to our students and our commitments to experiential learning and global education, the PacRim Program is introducing these four changes:

  • Frequency: PacRim will now run every two years to increase accessibility and allow greater linkages between PacRim cohorts.
  • Duration: Students will engage in one semester of group travel (rather than the current two semesters), preceded by a full semester of pre-departure preparation and a fall colloquium upon return.
  • Summer Experiential Learning Component: Students will be encouraged to participate in an optional summer experiential learning opportunity, such as independent research, community service, or internships, and receive financial support for this summer experience.
  • Size: The size of the travel group will be reduced to 16 students (in contrast to the 24 students in the current model).

Frequency of PacRim trips
PacRim trips will now occur every two years (starting in Spring 2024) rather than every three years. This will provide every single Puget Sound student with the opportunity to participate in PacRim without having to enroll for a fifth year.  In addition to addressing access, a two-year model will ensure that there are always PacRim students on campus to serve as ambassadors and recruiters for the next PacRim trip.

PacRim has operated on a three-year cycle. Typically, students were recruited in the Spring of Year 1, went through a year of preparation in Year 2, and then traveled in Year 3. This cycle meant that first-year students who arrive at Puget Sound in Year 2 of the PacRim cycle were not able to participate in PacRim unless they applied for the subsequent trip and participated in the trip as a fifth-year senior (or as a senior if they decided to take a one-year leave). Excluding one out of every three incoming cohorts of Puget Sound students limited the reach of the PacRim Program and left it to chance whether a student attending Puget Sound could participate within a typical four-year time frame.

Duration and structure of group travel
The revised PacRim model shifts from two semesters of group travel to one semester of travel. Students will prepare in the Fall, travel together in the Spring, pursue the option of remaining in Asia independently during the summer, and participate in a campus-wide colloquium the following Fall at which they will present their independent research projects.

Previously, the model required a full-year, international travel commitment from students, which was not feasible for many students for various reasons, including both academic and personal. The number of students able to integrate study abroad for an entire year into their schedules has declined over time, and only 2% of all study abroad students nationally study abroad for an entire academic year. One semester of required travel, within a one-year-plus integrative program, better fits the demands of contemporary undergraduate schedules, which increasingly include double majors, minors, and fixed extracurricular activities such as varsity athletics.

Summer experiential learning component
Students participating in PacRim in this new model will be able to take advantage of an optional summer experiential learning opportunity.  With a number of pre-arranged opportunities and financial support in the form of a stipend to ensure students can engage in this experiential learning component, PacRim students could stay in Asia during the summer after group travel to pursue research, internships, volunteer work, or further study in a language, for example.

Group size
PacRim will now accept 16 students for each trip. Moving from a group size of 24 to 16 brings several benefits:

  • It will be easier for staff to track and respond to the health and logistical needs of individual students.
  • It will be less complicated to make lodging, transportation, and classroom arrangements.
  • It will help to reduce the negative consequences of moving through Asia as a large and very visible group of Americans.
  • Pedagogically, instructors and students will benefit from a smaller class size.

Next steps
This coming Spring, faculty will be invited to submit expressions of interest to become the next PacRim Director. The PacRim Director will work with students in the preparation semester (Fall 2023) and then travel with the group in Spring 2024. Students will be recruited in Spring 2023, with applications due at the time of other study abroad applications (late-January, 2023).

The PacRim Program for decades has offered Puget Sound students a remarkable learning experience and will continue to do so now and into the future.  I am grateful for the leadership of faculty in implementing this program 50 years ago, in continuing to offer such a learning experience for our students, and in carefully developing this new iteration of the program for our students, and for the support of generous donors of the PacRim Program.

Best wishes for a healthy and happy new year,

Laura Behling
Laura L. Behling, Ph.D. l Provost and Professor of English