each year, UW-Madison students migrate across the globe. They study marriage in India, conduct large mammal counts at national parks in Kenya and intern with members of parliament in London.  Last year, the International Academic Programs (IAP) office sent 1,236 students abroad—nearly 70 percent of them women.  IAP is represented in 57 countries, by over 165 study abroad programs.

  Students can pick up a few credits over the summer learning about community health in Uganda, escape the unforgiving Wisconsin winter  for an academic year in Australia or choose a semester or winter break program in some foreign destination where they can expand their palate, learn to tango and pump up their resumes.

    But with 165 programs where to start?  For those that are chronically indecisive, altering the course of your future through the selection of a study abroad program is slightly overwhelming.  Language will be the first determinant in narrowing your selection.  About 50 of IAP’s programs have language requirements. This does not mean you can’t take classes in a foreign language on the others, it just is not required.  The next criterion is major. Many of IAP’s programs encompass a myriad of majors, while others are more specific, like the Botswana Community Library internship for graduate students in Library and Information Studies. The most inclusive resource for students to begin browsing programs is the IAP website.  After identifying a few options, interested students can visit the IAP Study Abroad Resource center, staffed by peer advisors, in 250 Bascom Hall for more individualized support.

    College student’s paychecks are usually gone before having a chance to settle in their account, often dissolved before they are even earned. This makes funding an overseas adventure intimidating. Some programs are less expensive than a year at UW-Madison, and there is a wide range of program costs to accommodate a wide range of student budgets.  The financial portion of the IAP webpage is the best place to explore scholarships (both through UW and nationally), grants and financial aid available.  Many of the regional and national scholarship deadlines are before IAP notifies students of acceptance, so advance planning is key.

    Financial aid, excluding work study funds, applies to your tuition as if you were on campus, excluding some of IAP’s summer and winter break programs. This includes Pell Grants, Perkins Loans and Stafford Loans.  Many scholarships (The Chancellor’s, People, POSSE, Powers-Knapp Scholarship, Trio, etc.) can be used to cover program costs abroad.

    An organic chemistry course taught in Russian transferring back to UW as a transfer credit would result in a sour homecoming for any student. With an IAP program the courses come back to campus more smoothly; credits transfer back as if you were taking these classes on the UW-Madison campus. A “Sociology of Law” class at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia will transfer back as UW class SOCIOLOGY 475: Classical Soc Theory and a “Religion and Culture in Modern Korea” class taken in Seoul, South Korea will come back as UW class RELIGIOUS STUDIES 400: Topics in Religious Studies-Humanities.

    A few months before departure, IAP guides students through a few of the hurdles students face while abroad in an orientation on campus. Handling money abroad, pre-cautions to remain healthy and safe in a foreign setting and other details are discussed.

    On-site staff guides students through their shaky first steps on foreign soil. They organize housing, plan excursions, host thanksgiving dinners, plan foreign language movie nights and provide a shoulder to cry on, if need be. While some programs are more independent than others, UW students on any of the programs have an extensive network to fall back on for support.

    There is no denying that Madison football games, the union and State Street are fun, but the Pyramids of Giza, Mount Kilimanjaro, the Great Wall of China and carnival in Brazil might be an even better time.  Studying abroad can add an international component to your resume, improve foreign language skills, offer an alternative point-of-view and many students say that it is the high point of their undergraduate/graduate experience. It is difficult to think of reasons not to study abroad.                                    

                                                                   By guest contributor Sara Jerving

Office of International Academic Programs

For Sara’s recommendations on where to go, click here.