Students Bid Farewell with "Bon Voyage" Reception
The number of University of Rochester 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," said Jacqueline Levine, assistant dean and director of the College Center for Study Abroad at the University. "We have more students studying abroad whose parents studied abroad. That was less likely to be true with previous generations of students."
One hundred and 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.
Students traveling abroad for the spring semester will be bid farewell with a "Bon Voyage" reception sponsored by the Center for Study Abroad on Friday, Dec. 14, from 4 to 5 p.m. in the Welles-Brown Room of the Rush Rhees Library on the River Campus.