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Study abroad can expose students to new cultures, lifestyles and landscapes, but not every student is able to devote the time and travel it takes to participate in international education. Study away opportunities in the U.S. can offer similar experiences.
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Research shows students who study abroad are more likely to be engaged on campus, and they feel connected to their peers and more prepared for their careers after college. Though the benefits of study abroad can be immense on student growth and academics, large barriers to participation for learners exist, including documentation, transfer of credits and time away from campus, as well as an additional financial burden.
To provide students with experiential learning and travel opportunities without leaving the country, many colleges and universities provide study away programs.
Survey Says
A large share of students are interested in participating in international educational experiences.
May 2023 data from College Pulse finds more than half of college students want to travel abroad, but only 14 percent have. Almost all colleges and universities surveyed by the Institute of International Education expect increased or stable study abroad participation in the 2024–25 academic year, according to August 2024 data.
What’s the need: Study away, as opposed to abroad, allows students the experience of traveling beyond their campus and learning in a new setting, providing similar learning objectives to an international program or exchange.
A 2009 research article argues that the U.S. is diverse and students are able to “have cross-cultural experiences, hear other languages spoken and meet people from different cultural traditions and discover religious practices different from one’s own” without crossing national borders.
Over the past few decades, more students have studied abroad than the generations before them, but there still remain gaps in participation, with some populations such as women, traditional-aged students, continuing-generation students and honors students more likely to study abroad than their peers.
Students with paperwork challenges, such as undocumented or DACA students and those on an international visa, may be ineligible to participate in study abroad at all, making study away the only related opportunity for them.
Bridging gaps: One barrier to study abroad is a lack of relevant curriculum that doesn’t apply to a student’s program of study. Many study away experiences are faculty-led and centered on research, providing targeted and specific offerings.
Westminster College in Pennsylvania launched Westminster Away this past spring. The inaugural group consisted of 14 students and two faculty members, who traveled to New England to learn about avian and pollinator ecology in partnership with the University of Vermont Horticulture Research and Education Center.
Other study away experiences are centered on internships and building career skills for learners rooted in local industry. A common destination for internships is Washington, D.C.—over 40 colleges and universities have a presence in the nation’s capital, with 17 of those managing a satellite campus complete with classrooms and residences.
Los Angeles is another popular destination for domestic study away or internships, particularly for students interested in film or media.
Study away can also expose students to unique history and cultural opportunities. Dartmouth University partners with the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, N.M., to provide students with a unique experience in Native American studies “that is not possible to replicate in Hanover, New Hampshire,” according to the university website. The University of North Georgia offered a study away experience for agricultural students to learn from a partner college in Iowa, exposing learners to a different type of crop and food production that they couldn’t find in their home state.
Put in practice: Some notable or interesting models of study away experiences around the nation include:
- St. John’s College has two campuses in the U.S., one in Annapolis, Md., and another in Santa Fe, and students are eligible to study at either location. Around 15 percent of students will move between the two campuses during their time at St. John’s, according to the college website.
- Towson University participates in the National Student Exchange, which connects undergraduate students at colleges and universities in the U.S., Canada, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Students pay their typical tuition and fees to Towson, limiting the financial burden of participation.
- A group of institutions in the Northeast partnered to create the Twelve College Exchange, which offers qualified students the opportunity to spend one year or a semester in a residential exchange to facilitate student mobility.
How does your college or university remove barriers to cultural and global education? Tell us about it.
