Study Abroad For More Career Opportunities
Two students are foregoing Midwestern winters to study overseas. One of these students, Holly Holmes, a musicology student, is tracking the "Clube da Esquina" movement in Brazil. Her peer, Timothy Landry of Houston, as part of his anthropology studies is exploring the interaction between Vodun (voodoo) practitioners and tourists in the West African Republic of Benin.
As Fulbright scholars, these University of Illinois students might expect to have their travel, living expenses, insurance and all or a part of their tuition paid. That's how the Fulbright program, which is sponsored by the federal government, works. It's an international exchange program that annually awards about 1,700 students like Holmes and Landry scholarships and grants for Study Abroad programs that they design themselves. Awarded in part for academic achievements and leadership potential, Fulbright scholarships this year went to a record number of students at the University of Illinois.
The Fulbright program is designed to encourage cross-cultural interaction and mutual understanding. In addition to enhancing cultural knowledge, study away participation was found by a University System of Georgia study to improve academic performance and increase graduation rates. Students interested in spending an academic year abroad can also apply for federal government-sponsored Boren Awards for International Study, Through the Boren program, students receive $20,000 to spend an academic year studying foreign languages in areas critical to United States interests. Boren Awards are based in part on academic record and potential to succeed, as well as commitment to government service, preferred countries and languages and fields of study. Preference is given to locales such as Chile, Cote d'Ivoire, Burma, Sierra Leone, Malaysia, Egypt, Afghan, Uzbekistan and more.
Different academic departments within colleges, universities and technical schools offer Study Abroad opportunities as well, often during the fall, spring and summer semesters. At the University of Florida, business majors might study in Madrid, Rome or Paris, while ecology students travel to Costa Rica and dance majors venture to Israel. More than 2,200 students in all participated in last year's University of Florida Study Abroad programs. This year, students have a choice of more than 30 Study Abroad programs, including Spring 2011 offerings that require registration by Oct. 15.
Business students participating in an Abilene Christian University Study Abroad program this past year traveled to Oxford, England, where part of their studies involved Apple iPads and Facebook. The students, assigned an AC Nielsen research project, assessed the recently debuted iPads as part of their work. A social media assignment, "iPads in Oxford," allowed Management Information Systems students to document the effort on Facebook.
Dr. Brad Crisp is an assistant professor of Information Systems at Abilene Christian University. "Being able to evaluate new technologies is a critical skill in business," he said. "Using new devices as part of a study abroad experience creates even more opportunities for us to explore, discuss and evaluate what these devices can do."
Programs fostering study outside of one's country have become more popular over the years, with participation between 1995-1996 and 1999-2000 increasing by 45 percent, according to the Association of International Educators. Many colleges and universities offer scholarships for these programs. Scholarships might also available through the Institute of International Education, the Alliance for Global Education and the Whitaker, Actuarial, Alicia Patterson and Zonta International foundations.