The Sept. 20th Study Abroad Fair at the Student Center, organized by the Academic Programs Abroad office, showcased the many opportunities available to students at Eastern Michigan University.
Program sponsors, participants and financial and academic advisers were discussing study abroad experiences, prospective or otherwise. Destinations not initially considered by a student planning to go abroad were new features.
Along with more popular locations like France and Germany, there were programs in India, Cuba and even Tibet. Short-term programs offer students pressed for time the chance to experience a week or two in a different country.
Even just two weeks abroad can be a significant life event, Carla Damiano, professor of German, said.
Standing in front of an advertisement entitled “Representing the Holocaust,” Damiano detailed the experience offered in her program. Students spend two weeks visiting key locations in Europe relevant to the Holocaust: museums, memorials and concentration camps.
Damiano recalled a trip where she and her group were put up in a hotel across the street from the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp. She said it was unlike most other study abroad trips.
“It’s a special student that goes on a trip like this,” she said. “You need emotional maturity.”
Damiano said after these trips it was typical to see several students start a program in German studies, and not uncommon to see students return to Germany soon after.
“No one has said this is a negative experience,” she said. “You come out of it a better person.”
Those looking for the traditional programs, either a semester or year abroad, will find them in abundance. Students can study ceramics in China, hospitality and management in Paris or London, or even study politics and history in Rome. Themed programs are not limited to subjects in the humanities and social sciences. The Japan Center for Michigan Universities offers career-oriented programs in Japan focused on environmental sciences and healthcare.
Benita Goldman, Program Coordinator in the Academic Programs Abroad office, said she was excited about the study abroad opportunities showcased at the fair and advocates taking advantage of them.
“This world is so interesting, so rich, so multi-leveled and complex, that I think it’s almost sad when students don’t have the chance to experience that first-hand,” Goldman said.
Ronald Delph, professor of Medieval and Renaissance European history, said, “People are starting to think study abroad is something you just do in college.”
He went on to note in his nine years of coordinating a study abroad trip to Italy, this year’s fair has shown the greatest preliminary response and interest.
Brian McNally, a senior double majoring in international business and economics, said he is approaching the language component that will be involved in his upcoming winter semester abroad in Spain with confidence.
“It’s required for my major, but I also want to improve my language.” He will be in a home-stay program, where a family provides housing and some meals. This ensures constant exposure to the language and requires excellent communication skills.
“The most important thing is planning,” Goldman said. “If you plan, we can help you out.”
Jeremy Baldwin, another program coordinator in the Academic Programs Abroad office, works closely with faculty to design programs with the goal of keeping prices low.
“We’re trying to create programs that are quality but affordable,” Baldwin said.
He was optimistic about the financial dimensions of study abroad programs.
“There are some real and some perceived barriers that prevent people from going,” he said. “Money is a real barrier.”
There are several scholarships offered through the university catering toward international experiences, as well as numerous funding opportunities from outside agencies or the federal government.
Goldman said EMU financial aid is almost always applicable toward eligible study abroad programs. With sufficient planning, Goldman said, it is not any more difficult than any traditional transaction with the university.
“There are some hoops, but we can help them jump through those hoops.”
“I never had a student who did not say it was worth every penny,” said Margrit Zinggeler, professor of German.
Advising for study abroad is available Monday-Thursday from 1–4 p.m. or by appointment at the EMU Academic Programs Abroad office in 103 Boone Hall.
“Going abroad is for almost anybody,” Baldwin said. “It changes people’s lives.”
