By the end of the summer 2025 SHRS in Ireland program, 400 students will have participated in one of the 20 study abroad programs that have been offered through our Department of Communication Science and Disorders.
Since 2006, Dr. Janice Vance has designed and led a series of programs in Belfast and Dublin that stress the importance of interprofessional practice within and across the fields of health, rehabilitation and education. The students participating in these opportunities have come from various pre-professional programs in SHRS, as well as from majors across the university.
By creating ‘communities of learning’, these programs allow students to gain important information about the connected and complementary roles of the professionals who provide service and care to individuals with disabilities. Through input from professionals in health, rehabilitation, education and psychology, and visits to a range of schools, hospitals, clinics and non-profit support agencies, students appreciate their future roles as contributors to multi-disciplinary and multi-agency efforts to provide the best support and care for clients and their families.
Other critical objectives of these rigorous study abroad programs address the impact of policy, economic and social influences on services and practice, and the development of students’ cultural sensitivity and competence.
Offering these learning opportunities at the pre-professional undergraduate level helps counter the impact of pre-conceived ideas, attitudes and professional biases, and helps build confidence and expectations for future interprofessional learning and practice.
Over the years, Vance has been supported by numerous faculty, staff and graduate students from across SHRS and the University of Pittsburgh Global Experiences Office. If you are an undergraduate student interested in health fields, learn more about the June 2025 program.