Study abroad is on the rise at UR

A trademark of the University of Richmond experience for many students is the opportunity to study abroad, and according to UR International Education, the number of students studying abroad is increasing. 

Whether it is to learn a new language, experience a different culture, or enact change on the ground level, more and more students pursue a wide variety of opportunities that take them all over the world. 

The amount of students that study abroad has increased in recent years, Ellen Sayles, director of education abroad said. Next fall, 53% of the junior class will be abroad with Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Czech Republic, and Denmark as the five most popular destinations, and Hungary, Portugal, and Australia as three of the destinations on the rise. 

“It is an increase over three or four years ago,” Sayles said. “Post-COVID we’ve seen more students go abroad and the percentage has gone up." 

The rise comes after UR topped the Forbes list, leading baccalaureate colleges for study abroad participation. Nearly 70% of students will graduate with an international experience. The diverse selection of study abroad programs offered through the university is one reason why students choose UR.

“Studying abroad was one of the things that the school offered that really made me want to come here,” junior Dio Scott said. 

Scott will be studying abroad at the University of Bocconi in Milan through an Institute for International Education of Students program in the fall for business administration.

Around 28% of students studying abroad next fall are business students, Sayles said. The most popular destinations for business students tend to be in Western Europe due to the availability of business programs and ease of transferring credits back to UR. 

Studying abroad also offers professional experience outside of the classroom. Scott is looking forward to the internship opportunities offered through the program. 

“A good thing that IES has, is they have an internship program so I will be able to do an internship abroad,” Scott said. “I’m sure it would look great on my resume to have experience working abroad.”

While many of the most popular destinations tend to be in Europe, UR students have ventured to more distant locations. 

“I knew that I wanted to go somewhere that I wouldn’t necessarily be able to spend a lot of time otherwise,” said junior Chloe Fortune who spent her fall in Otago, New Zealand. “Given New Zealand is so far away and it's got such a rich culture, I thought I would really enjoy studying abroad there specifically.” 

Business majors are far from the only students venturing abroad. According to Sayles, UR has more than 70 partners offering programs across many different fields, “One of the reasons we’re able to send so many students abroad is because we have partners that can help students on different paths.” Sayles said. For example, some of the more distinctive programs offered include a health studies program in Cape Town, or programs in Bhutan and Nepal focusing sustainability and environmental issues. Sayles said, “We can find a place for a student from virtually any curriculum.”

For Fortune, a biology and public health studies double major in the pre-med track, the options to study abroad were more narrow, but the unique courses offered at the University of Otago made New Zealand stand out for Chloe. 

“I was able to take a health inequities course revolving around the Maori, the indigenous group in New Zealand,” said Fortune, “Those opportunities really informed that [decision] and made it a no brainer in the end.” 

Aside from academics, study abroad programs give students an opportunity to experience life in another country for an extended period of time, for many students it allows them to travel to a part of the world they had never been to before. 

“I’ve realized how much more of a holistic person you can become by learning other people’s cultures, their languages and also being able to make friendships with people who have different backgrounds than me,” said Scott, “understanding that I can do that even more by traveling abroad.”

Studying abroad is often baked in as part of the curriculum for students at the University of Richmond. Global studies majors must study abroad as a prerequisite for graduation. Sophomore Sam Darwen, a global studies major with a concentration in development and change, looked for a place where he could apply what he had learned in the classroom and chose to study in Cameroon, a country he says is very different from what he has experienced before. 

“I’m from the U.K. and I grew up there and then moved here, so quite similar places,” Darwen said. “I’m hoping to see other ways of life around the world and see what else is going on and the problems other people face in different areas.”

As the school year draws to a close, 411 students will leave campus in the fall to embark on their semester abroad. For some students, it will be their first time leaving their home country for an extended time and long-term immersion into a new culture.

While this prospect might seem nerve-racking, Fortune encapsulated her experience on the other side of the world. 

“I truly had the best time of my life,” Fortune said. “I really feel like I came back a little bit of a different person, but also just a lot more confident in being able to travel on my own, and find a community, and I came back with a lovely community of friends.” 

Contact news writer Jeremy Young at jeremy.young@richmond.edu