Some students from the United States pursue educational opportunities outside the United States. This can include primary, secondary and post-secondary students.
Most outgoing U.S. students study abroad for one or two academic terms. The majority of US students now choose short-term study abroad programs according to the most recent Institute of International Education Open Doors Report. In the 2008–09 academic year, the five countries US students chose to study abroad in most were the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, France, and China. The total number of US students studying abroad during 2008–2009 was 260,327, compared to 262,416 the previous year, a modest decline of 0.8%. In the 2011–2012 academic year 283,332 US students opted to study abroad, a 0.9% increase from 2008–2009; however, US students who choose to study abroad represent only 1% of all students enrolled in higher education institutions. The Open Doors report is published annually by the Institute of International Education with funding from the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. However, the report found that there were notable increases in the number of U.S. students going to study in less traditional destinations. Fifteen of the top 25 destinations were outside of Western Europe and nineteen were countries where English is not a primary language.
While the data from the Open Doors Report is still wide-ranging, it is not entirely inclusive of all study abroad student data that had previously been included in the annual reports. As of 2013, according to the Open Doors' FAQs regarding the question of 'Who is counted in the U.S. Study Abroad survey?': "students who travel and take courses abroad that are not tracked by their home institution are not reported in Open Doors, nor are students who are enrolled overseas for full degrees from non-U.S. institutions."
History The University of Delaware is credited with creating the first study abroad program designed for U.S. undergraduate students in the 1920s.
A few decades later, Professor Raymond W. Kirkbride of the University of Delaware, a French professor and World War I veteran, won support from university president Walter S. Hullihen to send students to study in France in their junior year. UD initially refused to fund Kirkbride's travels, and he and Hullihen appealed to prominent public and private figures for support including then-Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover and businessman Pierre S. du Pont. Kirkbride set sail for on July 7, 1923, with eight students for six weeks of intensive language courses in Nancy, France, before moving on to Paris to study at The Sorbonne. The Delaware Foreign Study Plan, which came to be known as the Junior Year Abroad (JYA), was considered a success and was replicated by other U.S. institutions such as Smith College. In 1948, the Delaware Foreign Study Plan was discontinued due to post-war conditions in Europe and shifting priorities under a new university president. It has since been re-instated in the form of their current study abroad program.
Education and expenses for the students primarily comes from personal or family source, foreign government, or overseas sponsors. The decline in influx of the international students coming to US has caused an economic loss of $1.17 billion to United States.
Trend Despite flat overall study abroad numbers, there were notable increases in the numbers of U.S. students going to some of the less traditional destinations for study abroad in 2008/09. Double digit increases to host countries among the top 25 destinations include Argentina, Chile, Denmark, the Netherlands, Peru, South Africa and South Korea. Double-digit decreases among the top 25 host countries include Mexico (which experienced H1N1 virus outbreak that year), Austria and India."Study Abroad by U.S. Students Slowed in 2008/09 with More Students Going to Less Traditional Destinations"
The following table represented the top 25 studied abroad destinations for U.S. students seeking academic credited in 2007/08 and 2008/09, according to the Institute of International Education."Open Doors Data: U.S. Study Abroad: Leading Destinations"
According to NAFSAs website, "the number of U.S. students studying abroad for credit during the 2013–2014 academic year grew 5.2 percent from 289,408 students to 304,467 students. This represents just under 1.5 percent of all U.S. students enrolled at institutions of higher education in the United States and about 10 percent of U.S. graduates. A recent survey found that almost 40% of companies surveyed missed international business opportunities because of a lack of internationally competent personnel. When 95% of consumers live outside of the United States, we cannot afford to ignore this essential aspect of higher education."
See the following chart displaying their most recent study done on the percentage of United States abroad students by their race/ethnicity. Race/Ethnicity U.S. Postsecondary Enrollment 2013–2014 U.S. Students Abroad 2013–2014 African American or Black 17.7% 5.6% Asian/Pacific Islander 6.4% 7.7% Caucasian 59.3% 74.3% Hispanic/Latino American 15.8% 8.3% Multiracial 2.9% 3.6% American Indian/Alaska Native 0.8% 0.5%
RankDestination2007/082008/092008/09 % of Total% ChangeWorld Total262,416260,327100.0−0.81United Kingdom33,33331,34212.0−6.02Italy30,67027,36210.5−10.83Spain25,21224,1699.3−4.14France17,33616,9106.5−2.55China13,16513,6745.33.96Australia11,04211,1404.30.97Germany8,2538,3303.20.98Mexico9,9287,3202.8−26.39Ireland6,8816,8582.6−0.310Costa Rica6,0966,3632.44.411Japan5,7105,7842.21.312Argentina4,1094,7051.814.513South Africa3,7004,1601.612.414Czech Republic3,4173,6641.47.215Greece3,8473,6161.4−6.016Chile2,7393,5031.327.917Ecuador2,8142,8591.11.618Austria3,3562,8361.1−15.519Brazil2,7232,7771.12.020New Zealand2,6292,7691.15.321India3,1462,6901.0−14.522Netherlands2,0382,3180.913.723Denmark1,8552,2440.921.024Peru1,6382,1630.832.125South Korea1,5972,0620.829.1
Types of programs Despite the slight decline in U.S. students studying abroad for credit in 2008–2009, study abroad is likely to continue to grow. The number of outgoing U.S. students pursuing overseas study has increased over fivefold since the late 1980s, from less than 50,000 students to more than 260,000 in 2008–09. Behind the numbers, though, has been the proliferation in the type study abroad programs. According to Lilli Engel of the American University Center of Provence, there are fundamental differences in the academic and cultural experience offered by study abroad programs today that suggest the need to create a level-based classification system for program types. In a Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad article, she compares "a one-month summer term, requiring little or no host language proficiency, with subject-matter classes in English, collective housing and American roommates" with "a full-year program for students of advanced linguistic proficiency housed individually in a host family and directly enrolled in local university courses or engaged in a professional internship or service-learning project."
Motivation, interaction and their connection to developing a second-language was examined by Todd A. Hernández of Marquette University. In terms of language acquisition, there is more to learning a language than just the assumption "that study abroad is superior to home education...". It is the interaction of the individual with the option of various opportunities, the exchange of language and ideas across cultures and the interpersonal connections established within various social settings. When these characteristics are pursued in study abroad, many researchers have found the "this sustained interaction is an important improvement in a Study Abroad context... contributing to language gain."
Yet, within international education, a universally accepted method of classifying study abroad programs has proven elusive. U.S. students can choose from a wide range of study-abroad opportunities differentiated by program sponsor, curriculum, cost, program model, language and degree of integration, to name a few. While study abroad in the U.S. is by no means uniform, study abroad programs can reasonably be grouped according to (a) duration, (b) program model (c) program sponsor.Cressey, William (2004). Guide to Studying Abroad, pp 16-20. Princeton Review, New York. .
Duration Study abroad programs are available to students throughout the year. However, the majority enroll in Semester or Summer programs (37.3% and 35.8%). Even though the total number of outbound U.S. students grew by over 100,000 from 2000/01 to 2008/09, the percentages of students studying abroad during a given term remained largely stable. However, the long-term trends of steadily relatively fewer students signing up for Academic Year programs in favor of growing enrollments in programs less than 8 weeks during the Academic Year. For working and community college students study abroad can also last as short as a week.
Duration of U.S. Study Abroad (% of Total), 1999/00 – 2008/09 Term Abroad 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 Summer Term 33.7 34.4 32.7 37.0 37.2 37.2 38.7 38.1 35.8 One Semester 38.5 39.0 40.3 38.1 37.5 36.9 36.3 35.5 37.3 8 Weeks or Less During Academic year 7.4 7.3 9.4 8.9 8.0 9.5 9.8 11.0 11.7 January Term 7.0 6.0 5.6 5.7 6.0 5.4 6.8 7.2 7.0 Academic Year 7.3 7.8 6.7 6.0 6.0 5.3 4.3 4.1 4.1 One Quarter 4.1 3.9 3.8 3.3 3.3 3.3 3.4 3.4 3.3 Two Quarters 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.5 1.3 0.9 0.5 0.6 0.5 Total 154,168 160,920 174,629 191,321 205,983 223,534 241,791 262,416 260,327
Four basic program models Four basic models have been identified to refer to a study abroad program's structure. They consist of (a) Island, (b) Integrated, (c) Hybrid, and (d) Field-study programs.Williamson, Wendy (2008). Study Abroad 101 (Second Edition). Agapy LLC, Illinois. .
Island – Students participating in island programs study alongside other American students in a study center. Island programs are typically sponsored U.S. universities and/or third-party providers, who develop a curriculum specifically with American students in mind. Integrated – Students who participate on an integrated program enroll directly in courses alongside local students at a host university. Program sponsors may provide additional services such as assistance with course registration and language tutoring. Hybrid – Hybrid programs include elements of both island and integrated program. Typically students take a selection of their coursework at a host university and the remainder at a study center. Hybrid programs are common in countries where the primary language of instruction is not English, such as China and Morocco. Field-based – Field-based study abroad programs for academic credit are structured much more liberally than traditional island, integrated or hybrid programs. Generally these programs involve a thematic focus, field study training and finally an independent study project. SIT Study Abroad programs are for the most part field-based.
Program sponsor Programs can also be grouped and classified by identifying a program's sponsor. Sponsors are the institutions and/or circumstances that led to a program's creation, as well as what the goal of a program is. The main study abroad program sponsors are (a) host university (direct exchange and direct enroll), (b) U.S. college or university (study centers and international branch campuses), and (c) study abroad organizations known as third-party providers.
Host University Sponsor: direct exchange and direct enroll