Recognizing international study as an essential part of preparing for a successful career in a globally interdependent world, U.S. students continue to study abroad in record numbers, reaching 205,983 students. That number is an upsurge of 8 percent compared to the prior year, according to Open Doors 2006, an annual report released by the Institute of International Education.

According to the report, with 20 years of sustained and marked growth in U.S. international education, the study abroad experience has progressed well beyond the typical junior year experience, with students now seeking educational experiences of various durations, at different points – and sometimes more than once – in their academic careers.

‘In the past 10 to 15 years, the number of students studying abroad and having an interest in the international experience has more than doubled,’ said Daniel Obst, director of membership and higher education services at the Institute of International Education.

This upsurge in global awareness and multicultural understanding throughout the world has to do, in large part, with Sept. 11, he said.

‘People started to wake up and realize there was a world out there and they wanted to see it,’ he said.

In addition, information disseminated through podcasts, instant messenger and e-mail allows students to connect more easily with a broader world.

‘The Internet tore down a lot of regional barriers so students from different cultures can more easily communicate with one another,’ said SU Abroad Communications Manager Daeya Malboeuf.

Of the 20 countries Open Doors lists as the most popular destinations for study abroad, five are primarily English-speaking, and most are located outside Western Europe.

While 45 percent of all U.S. students abroad study in typically popular destinations in Western Europe (No. 1 United Kingdom, No. 2 Italy, No. 3 Spain and No. 4 France), there were major increases in the number of students going to other host countries. This included a 35 percent increase – to 6,389, up from 4,737 the previous year – in students going to China.

China is now the eighth leading host destination for U.S. students and the only Asian country in the top 10.

In keeping with this trend, last spring saw the inauguration of SU Abroad’s new Beijing center, and the complementary introduction of the university’s pioneering Asian Studies minor.

‘I chose to study in Hong Kong because I wanted to go somewhere that would open my mind,’ said Robert Aseltine, a senior marketing and entrepreneurship major.

Aseltine said he didn’t choose to study abroad so he could take classes in a foreign country, but rather to interact with people from a completely different environment.

‘It’s interesting to see different settings, rules and standards,’ he said. ‘Even though the government has a lot more control over these peoples’ lives, they get up everyday and life goes on.’

Aseltine said it’s vital for the future world that Americans are exposed to these differences.

‘In high school we don’t learn a lot about Asia, but they learn a lot about us,’ he said. ‘They can probably tell you more about us then we can.’

Amy Sloane-Garris, director of marketing and recruitment for SU Abroad, said going abroad is about immersing oneself in the host country’s culture through work as well as play.

‘Students today are adventurous, inquisitive and becoming more sophisticated in their need to understand the world at large, outside of a textbook,’ she said.

Malboeuf said U.S. students are increasingly studying in countries such as China and India that will provide useful language and cultural skills for their future careers.

‘The more students watch what’s on TV and read what’s in the newspapers, the more they realize they need international knowledge and intercultural communication skills to be successful in a global community,’ Obst said.

Other figures released in the study tracked the flow of students in the opposite direction, from foreign countries into U.S. universities. The institute found that international enrollment in U.S. higher education remained steady last year at about 565,000, after two straight years of declines, but that new enrollments were up about 8 percent from 2004-05.

International students provide an estimated $13.5 billion boost to the U.S. economy. The Department of Commerce calls higher education the country’s fifth-largest export in the service sector.

The Institute of International Education is the leading not-for-profit educational and cultural exchange organization in the United States. It has conducted the annual statistical survey of the international students in the United States since 1949 and with support from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs since the early 1970s.

‘We do, in fact live in a global world,’ said Elane Granger, associate director of admissions counseling and student services at SU Abroad. ‘When we don’t engage in that world, we don’t get the tools we need for dealing with society. We don’t get the skills we need for professional and personal success.’

Published on November 29, 2006 at 12:00 pm