Despite Obstacles, Some SEAS Students Travel a Long Way From Mudd

Between Gateway projects and specialized seminars, academic responsibilities can make it hard for a Columbia engineer to leave the lab, let alone the country.

While spending a semester or year abroad is fairly common for Columbia College students, it's a much more unorthodox trajectory for engineers. And the numbers prove it: in 2004-2005, 359 students from the College went abroad, amounting to about nine percent of its total enrollment, as opposed to 26 from SEAS, or about two percent of its student body.

But over the last few years, the number of SEAS students exercising the study abroad option has increased slightly, and administrators seem to be showing a renewed commitment to aiding interested engineers in their pursuit of an international education.

"We think study abroad is a very good concept, and we're anxious to make it available to all students," said SEAS Vice Dean Morton Friedman. "Engineering is the most international of all careers, so it's really a good fit for our students."

The small number of engineers abroad can be attributed to a variety of factors, including the rigor of the SEAS curriculum. While humanities and some College science majors can approach their studies with a great deal of flexibility, many engineering majors involve precise sequences of courses that must be taken in order, making it very difficult for students to replicate the SEAS curriculum at other institutions. "Every course you take in your major builds upon itself, so you can't afford to miss a step," said Engineering Student Council President Tom Fazzio, SEAS '06.

Dean Kathleen McDermott, who acts as the principal advisor for study abroad programs for both Columbia College and SEAS, agreed that the limited number of schools with matching courses of study was partially responsible for the low numbers of engineers going abroad. "The difficulty with engineers had always been trying to find ways to match their curriculum here, since there aren't too many schools just like ours. But we've definitely found some now, and the numbers should keep growing," she said.

Because of the rigid structure of their academics, SEAS students are encouraged to go abroad during their sophomore year, which proves challenging for many. "If you're an engineer and you want to go, you have to jump on it immediately," said Gold Truong, SEAS '08, a chemical engineering major who would like to go abroad next year. "It's taken me awhile to figure it all out, so I'm sure it will be difficult. But a lot of my friends from the College are going, and I feel like it's an experience I shouldn't have to miss out on."

Another difference between SEAS and the College that affects participation in programs abroad involves the language requirement. While students in the College must demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language as part of their core requirements, engineers are not obligated to learn another language. Thus, the majority of students who do choose to go abroad stick to English-speaking countries, with the exception of a summer program in China frequented by heritage speakers.

"I think it'd be really hard to take engineering courses in a non-English speaking country," said Sahil Mehta, SEAS '06, a civil engineering major who spent last spring at the University of Sheffield in central England. "The language of engineering is different enough as it is."

According to Mehta, the particular mind-set of the typical engineering student is also a deterrent from studying abroad. "A lot of engineers here are very career-driven, so they see sophomore and junior year as a time for research, internships, standardized testing-a lot of them don't think an experience is worth it if it's not about making money or putting it on a resume," he said. "But what they don't realize is that time abroad is a great thing to talk about in an interview."

SEAS students have mixed feelings regarding the quality of the help and advice they received from faculty in planning their trips.

According to Keigo Yoshida, SEAS '06, who spent sophomore year in Kyoto, Japan, the experience was positive. "I thought my advisor was very helpful. I received a good deal of encouragement and excitement for the fact that I was going abroad," he said in an e-mail. "And Japan was a nice break from sitting through some dreary lectures at Mudd."

But Mehta said that the faculty was not always easy to work with, and that he was left to do much of the planning entirely on his own. "I had to find out everything about it, do all the legwork myself-I literally got no help whatsoever," he said. "Economics or political science majors, they go abroad all the time and their advisors are helpful. But SEAS advisors just don't know what's going on."

McDermott conceded that the process for engineers has not always been easy. "It really took a while for the engineering faculty to get on board," she said. "But now they have, and I can tell they're excited about it."

Fazzio said that in the course of his four years at Columbia he had sensed an increased emphasis on attaining a global perspective. "In the classrooms, we're becoming more exposed to the international flair of engineering and how different countries and cultures approach the same engineering problems," he said.

And despite the frustrations that many students faced in planning for their time abroad, all still said they would highly recommend it to their peers.

"I would definitely advise other young engineers to go abroad-it was the best experience of my life," Mehta said. "But I'd tell them that they'll have to push for it, be very strong in their stances, and not take no for an answer."