The Office of International Services offers a full range of resources for our international community of students and scholars, including advice and assistance in visa, immigration, tax, employment, and cultural and general matters.
Click to see our current staff!
This office collaborates with a wide variety of offices and organizations, including the International Studies Program, Office of International Programs, Vassar International Student Association (VISA), Office of Career Development, AAVC, and the various Campus Life and Diversity offices in efforts to provide programming that speaks to the college’s mission to promote a global perspective among all our students. The office also coordinates programs and activities designed for greater engagement with the broader Poughkeepsie community such as the annual Arlington Street Fair (which takes place during Freshman Families Weekend).
Globalization requires that institutions of higher education internationalize and produce students who are ready to be global citizens, who are inter-culturally competent and have the ability to communicate across cultures. Toward this end, we look both to empower internationals to develop the tools to adjust and thrive in a new culture here at Vassar and in the US, and also to involve and engage all members of the campus community in events, workshops, and other opportunities to share in and to spread the wealth of global perspectives and experiences our campus enjoys.
Where do our students come from?
The international community at Vassar totals more than 250 students, language fellows, coaches, professors, and other employees. While our society attempts to define what is international in terms of documentation, we encourage members of our international community to self-identify themselves. Included in this diverse population are students studying on F-1 visas; students, language fellows, coaches, and visiting professors on J-1 visas; tenure-track faculty members, and a large contingent of people whose life experience leads them to identify with the international community.