Why Study Abroad?

Earn UT Credit
When you study abroad with a program approved by UT, you earn UT credit. Study abroad can be integrated into your degree plan. Ann Batdorf, a UT junior who studied in South Korea, notes: “I was able to get a glimpse of the world AND get college credit.”

Impress prospective employers
Today’s workplace is increasing global and requires knowledge and experience that transcends national boundaries. Provost Sheldon Ekland-Olson encourages students to study abroad to enable them “to assume leadership roles in the global arena.” When you study abroad you enhance your career preparation by demonstrating willingness to learn in a cross-cultural environment, to be open to different perspectives, and to risk change. All of these skills are valuable to employers. Plus, Study Abroad looks good on a resume!

Find out more about yourself
As Brenda Jimenez states about studying in Seville, Spain after her first- year at UT, the experience enables you “to try new things and step out of your comfort-zone so you can test your limits.” You will have the opportunity to learn to be flexible, humble, and patient in an unfamiliar culture. Risking change deepens intellectual maturity, encourages independent thinking, and builds confidence.

Learn outside of the classroom
Live and learn in an educational environment not confined to a classroom. Experience the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of places you have only read about. While taking a Maymester Abroad class in Vienna, Kristin Gamez, an RTF major, conveys: “…the experience of Viennese art and culture was not just in museums, but it was alive in the city where we walked and lived.”

Perfect your foreign language skills
Immersion is the best way to learn a language. Living and learning on a daily basis in a foreign country enables you to become fluent. Viridiana Herrera, a student in the School of Business at UT, writes about her experience in Vienna: “I enjoyed the times our German teacher walked with us to the market and helped us with our German when speaking with locals.”

Travel with an expert
This is an once-in-a-lifetime chance to travel with an expert in your field of interest - your professor. Edith Whitsitt, an art history major, expresses that her experience studying with a UT professor in Vienna, was “well planned and the material highly integrated with artistic resources in the city, making the courses very enjoyable and intimate.”

Gain a global perspective
Observe the inter-relatedness of other cultures and nations. Living in another culture brings you face-to-face with different perspectives about world events and your own country. When you return home you will have a broader perspective and will be more tolerant of other cultures. Armando Chavez, a senior in Pharmacy states that his experience studying in London has made him “see the world in a more open and profound way.”

Do it now!
This is the best time in your life to travel abroad. After you graduate it will be more difficult to juggle the responsibilities of work and family to travel extensively. Check out the opportunities to study abroad on the Center for Global Educational Opportunities (Study Abroad Office) web page at the http://www.utexas.edu/student/abroad/. There is financial assistance available too! Do it now!