SEAS going overseas

As Days on Campus comes to an end, prospective students will leave looking forward to the opportunities that await them in college. Many of them will want to study abroad, but due to stringent academic requirements, few students in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences will able to spend a semester in a different country. The University has taken measures to remedy this, and SEAS students should match these efforts by participating in study abroad programs.

This semester, only four SEAS students are studying abroad, a dismally low number for a university that prides itself on its global reach. There are several barriers to studying overseas for SEAS students, including the large number of required courses. Engineering students often worry that they will not complete their requirements within an eight-semester period if they study abroad. The large number of required courses also makes it difficult for many students to take foreign language classes, and often a requirement for study-abroad programs. Studying abroad in the summer term may relieve some of this pressure, but the lack of financial aid for summer classes keeps many students from choosing this option.

While these barriers are considerable, recent University initiatives are geared toward making studying abroad feasible for SEAS students, and the students should capitalize on these efforts. University administrators have hired a new director of global initiatives and education within SEAS, whose primary responsibility will be to oversee and evaluate transfers of credit. The study abroad office is also working with the Center for Student Advising to help students planning to go overseas. Additionally, there are a variety of programs in English-speaking countries, so students do not necessarily have to worry about satisfying a foreign language requirement. The Office of Global Programs has also advertised summer research programs in foreign countries, such as the Research Internships in Science and Engineering program, which is free and has no language requirement. While the decision to study in another country is an individual one that should be made with a realistic academic plan in mind, the growing number of feasible study-abroad programs for engineers is an encouraging sign.

Regardless of academic specialty, studying in another country is an beneficial experience that a larger portion of student body should be able to do. Given the University’s recent efforts to make going abroad easier for SEAS students, engineering students should strongly consider broadening their horizons overseas.