Overview of Study Abroad
The University of Iowa currently sends approximately 1,100 students abroad every year.
Undergraduates, comprising 66% of the total, often study for a summer, semester, or academic year and take courses that transfer toward degree requirements, whether they be General Education Program requirements or credit toward their majors, minor, or certificates. Of course, it is also possible to earn elective credit abroad. Many semester & academic year programs entail direct enrollment at a partner university, where UI students study side-by-side with local degree-seeking students. Summer and short-term programs are often more specialized, are led by UI faculty or taught by local instructors overseas, and focus on one or two specific requirements. Many students also study language intensively abroad, whether for a summer, a semester, or an academic year.
Graduate students often emphasize thesis or dissertation research when they go abroad, although occasionally they also enroll in course work at partner universities or take intensive language instruction. There are a limited number of graduate level exchanges with partner institutions. Some faculty-led short-term programs are designed specifically for graduate students and target fieldwork or collaborative research related to a masters or Ph.D. program.
The Iowa Promise, the University of Iowa's strategic plan for 2005 - 10, places an emphasis on study abroad for undergraduate and graduate students. The goals for both Undergraduate Education and Graduate & Professional Education & Research express the need for expanded efforts to instill a sense of global citizenship among those who receive degrees from the University of Iowa, and to enable our alumni to be competitive in an increasingly "flat" world.