Define Your Goals
Study abroad is an enriching, life-changing experience. If you are contemplating study abroad, you have already revealed a desirable trait that sets you apart from other students: intellectual curiosity. You want to know more about other peoples, other languages, other cultures. You understand that there is no substitute for the experience of living in another country, and you are eager to expand your cultural horizons by learning first-hand how other people live, think, work, and play.
Spending time abroad opens a window to a world of new experiences. Students who incorporate overseas study into their academic programs deepen their knowledge and understanding of international, political, and economic issues. Like other students, you may return from your sojourn abroad with a better perspective on world affairs and a broader understanding of your own country and its way of life.
But study abroad does more than promote academic enrichment and personal growth. It also enhances your employment prospects. Employers are increasingly looking for graduates who have studied abroad. Why? Because students who have returned from a successful study experience abroad possess skills that are valued in today's competitive workplace: not just international knowledge and second language skills — important as those are — but also cross-cultural communication skills, flexibility, resilience, and the ability to adapt to new circumstances and deal constructively with differences. Study abroad returnees have demonstrated that they can thrive in new and often challenging environments.
Why do you want to study abroad? Take some time to ponder this seemingly simple question. You may have some very specific reasons: to improve language skills, for example, or to prepare for graduate school. Other reasons may be more general or abstract but are just as valid: to learn about another culture, to enhance your education, to meet new people, to travel. Your self-assessment and candid responses to the following questions can guide you to the kind of program best suited to meet your academic and personal goals:
Do you want to study intensively in your major field, or are language and cultural studies more important?
How will study abroad fit into your academic program? Will the courses you take fulfill major requirements or count as electives? Will going abroad alter your graduation plans?
If you are interested in going abroad primarily to study a language, are you proficient enough in a foreign language to enroll directly in a foreign university? Would you like to continue instruction in a foreign language while taking some of your course work in English? Or are you a beginner seeking a program that combines elementary language instruction with additional course work in English?
How deeply do you want to be immersed in the culture? Do you want to attend classes with students from the host country, or mainly with other Americans?
Do you want classes to be on the American model, or on another model which may involve much more independent work?
Do you want to live with a family, with students from the host country, with other foreigners in the host country, or with fellow American students?
Do you want to spend most of your time in one location or travel to several places? Do you prefer cities or small towns?
Think about your learning style. Do you find that independent study liberates you to pursue a subject in depth, or are you more comfortable in structured courses? Would studying in a foreign country change your answer to this question?
Where do you want to go? Why?
How much time do you want to spend abroad? How much money can you afford to spend?
Once you have given some thought to these questions and identified your objectives, your next step is to become familiar with the various opportunities open to you. The next section outlines your educational choices so that you can continue the process of matching your objectives with the types of programs available.
