05.31.18

Here’s how you can study abroad

Madeleine Peck / Director of Podcasts

During spring break of her junior year, Emma Quinn hopped on a plane with six other students from the School of Visual Communication and left for Barcelona and Pamplona, Spain.

She attended a conference on infographics where she met and learned from award-winning professionals in her field. Upon returning to Athens, she was inspired and driven to do better.

“College is kind of the time to do that,” Quinn said. “Once we graduate, when in your life are you gonna have time?”

While at Ohio University, students can apply for scholarships and have various options to take their studies past the borders of Ohio and even overseas.

Quinn recommends students reach out to their advisors and the Office of Global Opportunities early in their time at OU about their options for going abroad.

Bobcats can head to the Bahamas for winter break to learn about botany or spend an entire academic year as an exchange student in Shanghai.

Although Quinn’s trip was directly through her advisor in VisComm, the Office of Global Opportunities (OGO) offers students a wide range of programs at various locations across the globe.

Meagan Hall | DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

The Walter Interntional Education Center.

Study abroad programs directly through OU allow students to travel with an OU faculty member and their fellow classmates from Athens to learn together in a foreign country. OGO offers these programs for entire semesters or for periods during school breaks.

For students who want a new adventure within their own borders, OGO offers domestic programs. Students can spend semesters learning and interning in Los Angeles and Washington D.C., or they can take a week to learn about climate change at Yellowstone National Park.

Students receive direct OU credit for these programs and are able to use their financial aid and scholarship packages, for the most part.

If cost is a barrier for students or they seek a truly immersive experience, exchange programs are wallet-friendly and offer students more independence.

Whereas the study abroad programs through OU and other providers set up specific activities and students take their classes with their American classmates, exchange programs give students the opportunity to be treated like any other student at a foreign university. Students take classes with full-time students at whatever school they’re exchanging to and are responsible for any extra travel they may want to do abroad.

These programs, which are only offered for full semesters or an academic year, are usually a cheaper option for students worried about the costs of going abroad. For example, OU students exchanging to the University of Southern Denmark may actually save money exchanging, because they don’t need to pay OU’s tuition and the University of Southern Denmark is tuition-free.

Students receive transfer credits for these programs and are able to use their financial aid and scholarship packages, for the most part.

For a student who is uninterested in the study abroad programs through OU but has heard about a cool program their friend at Kent State is involved with, they may also be eligible to join in on that Kent State program.

OU is part of the Ohio International Consortium, made up of other four-year public universities in Ohio. The consortium makes it so students at public universities in Ohio can participate in study abroad programs offered at other Ohio schools.

For more options, there are various program providers that plan study, volunteer and internship abroad opportunities for students across the country. OGO is affiliated with some of the providers. CISabroad even has a coordinator on campus who can speak specifically about their programs.

Students receive transfer credits for these programs and are able to use their financial aid and scholarship package for programs with affiliated providers, for the most part. If students participate in a program with a non-affiliated provider, it is possible to use their federal financial aid but not OU scholarship packages.

Development by: Megan Knapp / Digital Production Editor