The Institute of International Education recently released a survey that reported an 8.5 percent increase in American students studying abroad during the 2005-06 academic year. The University reported an identical trend with an 8.5 percent increase in the number of students studying abroad.
The "Open Doors" report, published annually by IIE, analyzes international students studying in the United States and study abroad patterns of American students.
Rebecca Brown, director of the University's International Studies Office, noted that since "emphasis has been placed on new program development" at the University, faculty have initiated and shaped new programs. She added that the University saw a 15-percent increase in participation among undergraduates from the 2004-05 academic year to 2005-06.
Additionally, the University offered new programs last summer in Costa Rica, Eastern Tibet, Paris and Dublin.
According to the IIE report, the University ranked 22nd in student participation, with 36.3 percent of undergraduates taking advantage of study abroad opportunities.
Third-year College student Jill Lorenzi, who studied abroad last summer in Morocco and will spend the spring in Paris, noted the benefits of educational experiences abroad.
"I think that studying abroad is a wonderful opportunity, and everyone should take advantage of it especially in the summer because you don't have to leave U.Va., and it's a great experience," Lorenzi said. Though summer programs are a convenient opportunity for some students to study abroad, Brown pointed out that these programs do not give students the same level of immersion as a longer program would.
"Almost every student that comes back wishes they had gone over there for a semester or a year," Brown added. "The longer [a student is] there, the more immersed [he] will get in the culture and language."
Daniel Obst, IIE director of membership and higher education services, said he believes the increase in study abroad participation is the result of students "discovering that studying abroad is a real resume builder" because of the increasing trend toward globalization. Obst added that students are now traveling to China, India and other Far East destinations to acquire worldly business acumen.
One of the concerns revealed by the IIE survey is that more than 80 percent of participants are Caucasian and about two-thirds are women.
Obst noted that there are "government funded scholarships that are available with [minority] targeted funding that can diversify this picture," but that the real challenge remains in "figuring out more ways to get minority students to study abroad"
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