Going International a Growing Trend for Class of 2007

More undergraduate students are graduating this June from the University of Cincinnati with international experience than ever before, a growth trend which has been accelerating rapidly over the last few years.

A more aggressive approach in promoting the benefits of study abroad to the student body is one factor that helped the percentage of grads with international experiences to grow from six percent of UC’s graduating class in 2003 all the way to 12.8 percent of the graduates in 2006.

Final figures for the class of 2007 have not yet been calculated, but the results are expected to continue the trend.

From 2003 to 2006, the number of UC graduates who had studied abroad more than doubled, from 175 to 363.

Nationally, the pace has moved at a different rate, but growth has also been dramatic, with the number of grads with international experiences doubling over the last decade, according to the Institute of International Education (IIE).

"What we are seeing is part of that national trend, although our growth has even outpaced the national rate in the last few years," says Mitch Leventhal, UC’s vice provost for International Affairs. Annual growth nationally reported by IIE for 2004-05, the latest figures available, was 7.7 percent. "American students are more open to the idea of studying abroad, and we’re aggressively promoting those experiences at UC."

"We’re doing a tremendous amount of outreach," adds Susan Bacon, UC International’s director of academic programs. "Study Abroad advisors visit classes, we are a presence at major events across campus, such as summer orientation, and we’ve added a Programs Abroad Expo each fall."

The total of all UC students who study abroad in any given year has also skyrocketed. In 1998-99, that number was 465 students. By 2005-06, it had risen to 845.

The concept of studying abroad is one that was traditionally strongest in the humanities. But the increase in globalization in the business world and other fields has caused an explosion of interest in areas where there was little activity before, such as the hard sciences.

UC students are expanding their education in areas never before available. Besides the rapid growth in Asia associated with the economic boom in that part of the world, UC has recently established opportunities in Brazil and Tanzania. A proposal is now in development to start a program from the College of Education that goes to Uganda.

"Across the university, departments are internationalizing," says Bacon. A number of faculty have bought into the idea that they can create a stronger educational experience for their students by embracing international opportunities.

An example comes from the College of Engineering, where Associate Professor of Environmental Engineering Dan Oerther actually incorporates the fall Study Abroad Expo as part of an assignment for his first-year civil engineering students.

Oerther’s students were expected to visit each program exhibitor and return a report. Altogether, this exposes these first-year students to programs at approximately 60 different destinations.

"(Oerther) believes an international experience is fundamental in an education, even for an engineering student," says Leventhal. "A significant number of faculty are encouraging students to explore these options, and it’s increasing in fields like engineering and the hard sciences."

"In the past, these experiences tended to be a year long, coming typically during the junior year, and were most often geared for women," says Bacon. "That has changed. Schools like our College of Business and College of Applied Science, with its construction science program, have become huge in international opportunities. Studying internationally has become much more democratic in terms of the students who are attracted to it."