One of my kid’s (current) dreams is to live all over the world. They would like to combine this with college.
I wonder if any CC experts know of programs that allow multiple study abroad opportunities. In a perfect world they would study in a different city every semester. As I doubt that will be easy to do, they’ve also allowed that even a different city each year for the 4 years would be “awesome.”
Anyone know of interesting programs that allow that kind of flexibility? Thanks in advance.
There’s the World Bachelor’s in Business:
https://www.marshall.usc.edu/programs/undergraduate-programs/world-bachelor-business
Other than that, I think you’d have trouble finding many American colleges (and fitting in all the requirements to graduate) where you can graduate without being in residence 2 out of the 4 years. Probably easier to do at a public, which tend to have more lax requirements in that regard.
You could also enroll in a bunch of universities abroad and then try to transfer those credits somewhere in the US to finish up.
Maybe transfer 2 years of credit and still do a study-abroad in the final two years?
FSU offers in-state tuition if you enter one of their study-abroad programs freshman years.
Finally, there are some University of London distance degrees. Those are self-study and then you sign up for tests in the summer (you can take tests all over the globe). Those are very cheap. About $10K for an entire degree (because they essentially send you some reading material, point you to a website, some textbooks, then administer and grade your exams). Said to be quite rigorous (the tests of degrees led by LSE feature LSE-level difficulty, etc.) Obviously you can be all over the world and still study for those degrees. Popular in former British colonies in the third world.
Do they know what they want to study?
Still a sophmore so it changes every couple of weeks, but probably a social/sciencey leaning with some medical/NGO interest: psychology/health sciences/cognitive science/International Relations etc. But subject to change.
I do know about the UoL degrees. I think they are looking more at something with a bit of structure - like a “home” campus, but the maximum options for “abroad” experiences.
Something akin to NYU if you started in NY, then did a semester in Paris, Shanghai, Dubai, etc. (Not sure how many different campuses NYU lets you study at, and there are other issues for NYU, but that kind of flexibility she’d love.)
That’s interesting about FSU - thanks for the tip.
She will probably change her tune again, but I thought I’d look around and see what was available. Thanks!
She may want to check out the Sciences Po dual degree programs, with Columbia, UCB and a few others.
Thansk @GMC2918
She’s probably not quite in the tier that can count on Columbia/Cal (or the Marshall world business - that’s also competitive I think) - but will check the Sciences Po programs out.
Minerva? I believe also quite competitive, and an unorthodox program, but it sounds like she would love the travel (seven cities in four years).
@93pilots Thanks. I’d never heard of that program. That is kind of exactly what she’d want.
the admit rate is concerning but always good to have a dream! She yawns if you mention Stanford or Harvard, but I showed her that page and she was like “when do I go!” Thanks.
This is not really my deepest area of knowledge, but i believe some LACs have pretty strong study abroad programs. You might take a look at what Middlebury, Colby and Hamilton (for example) offer.
Most schools allow a year or 2 semesters, as long as you can get the other requirements in too. For example, my daughter’s school requires 30 credits of upper division classes to be taken though the school, and many majors have senior seminars or required courses that you have to take on campus. Studying abroad is a little tricky for seniors.
There are also summer programs. Again daughter’s school has summer programs pretty regularly to China, Turkey, some South American countries. They usually last 5-8 weeks, and you get about 6 credits. The local state university has language immersion in France and other countries, and D could have done that and transferred the credits.
Yes. I’m pretty familiar with most standard “year abroad” situations - and there are a lot of cool ones out there. I think if you both do a year abroad and apply for transfer credits you might be able to get some schools to allow you 2 years “elsewhere” but most requre 2 years of “home grown” credits to gradute. So I’m looking for specialty programs that either have international campuses or have more lax residency requirements. Maybe a year or 3 semesters.
I think that Nottheastern offers co-op opportunities abroad.
My D is about to head out for her second study abroad. She has a friend who is also studying abroad for her second semester. My D is at an LAC. She is required to take a certain number of courses for her major and her minor on her own campus. Outside of a special program such as those others have mentioned, it would be difficult but maybe not impossible to string together more than a couple of semesters of study abroad coursework that would meet major and gen ed requirements and allow a student to graduate on time. A couple of semesters and summers would be more easily doable. Another thing to consider would be schools that offer a January term or something like it where students take a course abroad for a month each year. That combined with a couple of summers and/or semesters abroad might give your D the type of experience she is looking for, if your budget would allow it
My D did a summer Spanish program abroad that allowed her to meet her language requirement. She will study abroad again this semester and is taking a combination of major and gen ed requirements. No wasted classes. She will graduate in a total of three years. The summer Spanish courses and her AP and dual enrollment credit made that possible, and would perhaps have made an additional year of semesters abroad doable if she had wanted it and we could fund it. When she applied to college she specifically targeted schools with strong study abroad programs. Some of the schools on her list were Centre, Knox, Clark U, Trinity U (TX), Southwestern U (TX), and Puget Sound, Lewis and Clark, and Willamette in the northwest.
D’s friend is at U Wyoming which has a strong and well-funded study abroad program. She’s studied in Russia and Eastern Europe so far.
My D graduated from NYU and one of her friends did every semester except for one in different cities around the world. The nice thing about NYU is that they actually run the programs that you attend abroad (so you don’t have to worry about transferring credits or keeping financial aid) and they offer housing at these programs (my D did a summer abroad in Florence and lived in the villa owned by NYU; she had a fabulous experience!)
CaliDad, if your child scales back a bit and perhaps ends up not wanting to study abroad every semester, check out the World Scholars program at UDel, the 4+1 program at Tufts, the Pacific Rim Study Abroad program at Puget Sound, and the European Studies study abroad program at Rhodes (Rhodes is one of a number of LACs, as prezbucky said, known for strong study abroad programs). And, as another suggested, the Freshman Abroad programs at NYU. None of these are a different city every semester every year, but all offer multi-city experiences and/or innovative programs meant to integrate with campus learning/majors and/or programs that are primarily in the summer (allowing perhaps for doubling or tripling up on add’l study abroad during the traditional school calendar). Also check out the Semester at Sea programs.
Of course lots of other schools offer comparable study abroad programs, these are just some that come to mind from our family’s college search process. Good luck to you and your family!
Why would you pay an American university if you didn’t wish to reside there? She can enroll directly in many foreign universities and study or work on her own terms for a fraction of the cost.
Look at St Olaf: she could do “Interim abroad” (January term) every year + “Global”, 4 months, 5 countries for one semester ++ go abroad for one more semester, in several countries or one.
http://globalsemester2017.blogspot.fr/
https://wp.stolaf.edu/international/blogs-from-programs/
NYU allows students to study in several countries through their different countries.
And, as mentioned above, there’s Minerva.
That is an option, but the point is to study in as many different places as possible - so eventually you need to find an institution that will recognize ll your various credits in one single degree.
Some schools, like NYU, etc., come very close to what she wants to do - now getting in and paying are a different story!
While I understand she may think this sounds glamorous now, the reality is that she is unlikely to form any solid friendships by moving around every semester and will never really fit in with her cohort at any place.
That’s why some options are better in my opinion than others:
The St Olaf interims (4 times January abroad in different locations) don’t disconnect her from her cohort and keep the option of the ‘global semester’ which forms a tight knit cohort too.
The Minerva program, where all students switch.
She’s a pretty unique kid in that regard - but we are also talking a lot about that idea. She has sibs/close cousins in and through college so is pretty aware. My guess is she will end up doing a 50/50 split. But I do think a solid “home campus” option is important - even just to make sure you complete a degree.
I can also say in my ages-ago experience, 2 years at my “home school” was plenty. I only did one year abroad, but then I commuted 1 1/2 to start a career my senior year. I think she’ll have a bit of that in her. But it’s early days. She’ll change her mind 50 times by then - as she should.