Cal State Long Beach ranked No. 4 in the master’s institution of study abroad programs and No. 5 in the academic year-long program, according to a report by the Institute of International Education.
“I am grateful that our work to create sustainable exchange agreements and to enable faculty to lead short-term programs abroad has lead to our ranking among our peer institutions,” said Nathan Jensen, senior director of the CSULB Center for International Education. “That being said, there are still not near enough students who study abroad from CSULB.”
The report was based on 3,000 accredited institutions for the 2008-09 academic year. According to the non-profit organization, CSULB had 824 students studying abroad, including 76 in the long-term duration category.
About 2 percent of the 37,890 student population studied overseas from 2008-09, according to the CSULB website.
However, the number of exchange students is on the rise. From 2005-06, 435 students studied out of the country, ranking CSULB at No. 18, while 746 students studied abroad, ranking CSULB at No. 4 from 2007-08.
“Studying abroad compliments a student’s major and career very well, but beyond that, it also gives the student an opportunity to question or confirm his or her perspective,” Jensen said. “In that way, the experience is often transformative and is considered by the student to be a significant moment in his or her life.”
Australia, Kazakhstan, Brazil, Japan and Cameroon are some of the countries that offer opportunities for those looking to intern, study, teach, volunteer or work abroad for a semester or year-long experience.
Europe is the leading destination for students throughout the U.S., with 55 percent of 141,955 students scattered among countries like the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain.
“I signed up with the ceramics department through the recommendation of Tony Marsh to study in Cortona, Italy at the University of Georgia Lamar Dodd School of Art,” said senior ceramic major Brittany Mojo, who took an academic year of courses, which included book arts, Italian and Intaglio printmaking.
“It was nothing I could have ever imagined and everything I could have ever asked for,” she said.
This semester, 190 students, which includes those on the year-long IP program, Direct Exchange program, our London Semester program and independent program.
“As educators, our challenge remains one of making international a part of what it means to become educated,” IIE President and CEO Allan E. Goodman said. “International experience provides key skills needed by American graduates to succeed in the global workforce.”
The Center for International Education includes the Study Abroad Office, the International Admissions and International Student Services. For more information, call Education Abroad at (562) 985-8429.
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