A global classroom
COIL for Students
If your professor has included COIL in your course, part of your class will connect with students at another university somewhere in the world.
You might work on a project together, compare ideas, solve a problem, or explore how the same subject is understood in another place.
What is COIL?
Two classes learn together
COIL stands for Collaborative Online International Learning.
Your professor and a faculty member at another university design a shared part of their courses so students in both classes can learn and work together.
The collaboration usually becomes part of the coursework you are already completing for the class.
What could it look like?
Your COIL project could take many forms
Every COIL course is different because the faculty partners design the collaboration around what students are learning in their courses.
Work on something together
You might create a presentation, analyze a case, conduct research, solve a problem, design something, or complete another shared project.
Compare ideas and experiences
You may discover that students studying the same subject somewhere else ask different questions, see different challenges, or approach the work in another way.
Get to know people
Your international partners are classmates for part of the course. The collaboration gives you a chance to learn about one another while you learn the subject together.
What you bring matters
You already have something to contribute
You do not need to have traveled abroad or have previous international experience to participate in COIL.
Your own experiences, languages, communities, education, work, family, and ideas shape what you bring to the collaboration.
You participate as yourself
You are not expected to represent Los Angeles, the United States, your culture, or any other group.
Your perspective has value
What seems ordinary or familiar to you may be interesting or new to someone studying somewhere else.
You are an international classmate too
Students at the partner university are learning with you and from you at the same time you are learning with and from them.
Good to know
Your professor will guide the collaboration
You do not need to figure out how COIL works on your own. Your professor and the international faculty partner will explain the project and what is expected.
Some activities may happen live
Depending on time zones and class schedules, you may meet online at the same time or work together through messages, videos, shared documents, or other tools.
Communication may look different
Students may use different languages or communication styles. Nobody needs perfect language. Give one another time and ask when something is unclear.
The two courses may work differently
Class schedules, assignments, academic calendars, and expectations may not be exactly the same at both universities. Your faculty will plan around those differences.
Questions are welcome
If you are unsure about the COIL part of your course, ask your professor. The collaboration is part of the class, and your faculty member is there to support you.
Global learning for all
Why Cal State LA is building COIL
Studying abroad can be an extraordinary way to learn about the world, but traveling for weeks or months is not possible for every student.
Work, family, finances, caregiving, immigration circumstances, health, and many other realities can make international travel difficult.
COIL does not replace study abroad. It gives faculty another way to create meaningful international learning opportunities for students through their courses.
If COIL is part of your course
You have a chance to learn your subject with people you might never otherwise meet
COIL at Cal State LA is still growing. When a faculty member builds an international collaboration into a course, students get the chance to learn with another classroom and bring a wider range of perspectives into what they are already studying.
We hope you enjoy the experience.