Opportunites abound with Study Abroad
Students can study Spanish in Mexico, art in Australia or business in Korea through the Utah State University Study Abroad program.
“There are so many places now that students can study in,” said Kay Forsyth, director of Study Abroad. “We have 22 partner schools, and we have [the International Student Exchange Program] in addition, which gives students more flexibility and more opportunities around the world.”
Partner schools are those with exchange programs with USU. This means for each student USU sends to a partner school, one student from that school comes to USU, Forsyth said. The ISEP program exchanges students between about 100 schools.
About 200 students from USU take part in Study Abroad each year, with about 30 to 35 students from other schools coming here on exchange, Forsyth said. This semester, 20 students are at USU on exchange, she said.
The programs range in length from two to eight weeks in the summer and 15 to 16 weeks during fall or spring semesters.
The cost of studying on exchange is based on the cost of USU tuition plus room and board. It doesn’t include travel expenses, however, and other study abroad programs vary. The application fees start at $25 but vary according to program, Forsyth said.
This past summer, USU students studied in Peru, England, and Switzerland among other nations. Three members of Utah State faculty; Lynda Linford, Nancy Hills and Dennis Hassan, taught courses at the University College of Northampton, where seven USU students also studied.
The programs for Summer 2003 include Germany, France, Peru, Chile and Costa Rica.
Semester programs’ start and end dates are similar to those at USU, Forsyth said.
“The semester programs semi-coincide with USU, but it depends on what part of the world you’re in,” she said. “For example, Mexico starts in early August.”
Any USU student who meets the application requirements can study abroad. Students must have a 2.75 GPA for most programs, though some require a 3.0, and certain programs are for specific majors, Forsyth said. Requirements aren’t as stringent as one might think.
“You don’t have to know a language,” she said. “You can study in English in many countries where English is not the native language.”
Students get credit for participating in Study Abroad, and the programs meet USU major and minor requirements, she said.
“Students can meet requirements with careful planning with their financial adviser,” Forsyth said. “Also, scholarships and financial aid usually apply, and students can get scholarships just for studying abroad.”
Students who participate in it love the experiences they have, Forsyth said.
“I have students come back and say ‘why doesn’t everyone do this,'” she said. “They have the most amazing experiences of their life; they almost can’t describe it.
“They expand their horizons and learn what it means to be Americans. They learn independence and a lot of self-enrichment skills as well as about other cultures. Their language skills improve dramatically,” she said.
She said college years are a great time for people to travel because of student discounts and because they have fewer responsibilities than adults.
Petra Repic, a junior on exchange from Slovenia, arrived at USU Monday night and said she chose to study here to improve her English.
“I just wanted to study English because I know I’m really bad with it,” she said. “We had a choice to go to Sweden or here. I ended up here just by chance.”
As someone coming to the United States for the first time, Repic said she was impressed with how nice USU students are.
“Everybody is so kind and helpful and nice and open,” she said. “Everybody says ‘hello, how are you?’ and I don’t even know them. My apartment is great – it’s better than the one I had back home.”
Repic said her time here has been good enough to keep her mind off of home and the things she misses there.
“I’m not homesick,” she said. “I’m staying the whole year, so I probably will be, but now I’m fine because everyone is so kind.”
The Study Abroad Office will hold a fair Monday, Sept. 16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the International Student Lounge with tables set up for the different programs so students can receive information about the options available to them.
Returned Study Abroad students and current international students as well as representatives from International Studies Abroad, AustraLearn and various universities will be on-hand to answer questions about the many programs, Forsyth said.
For more information about Study Abroad opportunities, visit the Study Abroad Office in Taggart Student Center, Room 313 or the Web page, www.usu.edu/stdyabrd.
-kcartwright@cc.usu.edu