December 17, 2007
Banner year for study abroad
dave.andreatta@rochester.edu
The number of University undergraduates studying
abroad this academic year has reached an all-time high, with 218 students
hitting the books in programs overseas.
That figure represents a 9 percent jump over last
year, slightly higher than a nationwide spike in study abroad
participation, according to the Institute of International Education annual
report, Open Doors.
Observers attribute the steady rise to a variety of
factors, including the expectation of most students that they will require
a foreign language skill in their professional lives, and the increasing
likelihood that their parents studied in another country.
“Students these days are not just getting
information from the Study Abroad office, they’re hearing it from
their parents,” says Jacqueline Levine, assistant dean and director
of the College Center for Study Abroad. “We have more students
studying abroad whose parents studied abroad. That was less likely to be
true with previous generations of students.”
One-hundred thirty-six University students next
semester will enroll in courses at colleges and universities in 27
countries, from Peru to South Africa to China. Eighty-two students went
abroad for the fall semester, including four on year-long programs,
according to the Study Abroad Office.
Barcelona, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Italy remain
popular destinations for University students, although an increasing number
are capitalizing on programs in Australia and New Zealand specifically
targeting science and engineering majors.
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