The University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s Study Abroad program has exciting plans for the summer of 2024. Six locations are being planned this year with multiple course options for students.
The courses in Costa Rica will be a masters in business administration and an international business course. For England, students will be taking courses in engineering or psychology. Management and visual arts and design will be studied in Italy. In Ireland, English courses will be offered, but they can be cross listed as anthropology or humanities courses. A management course will be offered in Romania. In South Korea a criminal justice course will be offered, but it can be cross listed as a political science, history or anthropology course.
Ireland is a new location that was added for the summer of 2023. This year, for the summer of 2024, South Korea and Romania have been added as well.
Participating in the study abroad program can be very beneficial for students. Dr. Rose Honegger, UL Lafayette’s associate director of global engagement, shared her excitement regarding new locations and opportunities study abroad provides for students.
“We are excited to diversify our study abroad portfolio to include other parts of the world because we believe it’s important for our students before they graduate to gain a global perspective, so that when you enter the marketplace, you have personally experienced what it’s like to be in a new place and to meet others who may have a different perspective,” Honegger said.
Honegger explained there is a high probability that students will end up in a workplace where they will be collaborating with colleagues or clients that may be from different places in the world, so experiencing different cultures can be beneficial to students.
Honegger further explained the benefits of being able to include studying abroad on a resume.
“We truly believe that students that have experienced study abroad, when they highlight that in their resume, they’re going to catch the attention of the recruiter. That seems to always be something that potential employers are very interested in because that sets you apart from others,” Honneger said.
Honneger continued, “So, we encourage students upon return from their study abroad to come and talk to us so that we can help you to translate all of those skills you developed while you were abroad in a different country and put those skills onto your resume so that can help propel you for your next journey after graduation.”
Zayira Quiroz, UL Lafayette’s global programs coordinator, shared the skills she sees students acquire while studying abroad, namely the ability to be flexible and adaptable.
“The skills that I see are most important that we get from study abroad are flexibility and adaptability because you have to adapt to new environments, a new culture, a new language sometimes, so that translates in the workplace as well. Recruiters see how flexible and teachable you are,” Quiroz said.
In addition to summers abroad, students can also take a semester abroad. UL Lafayette has different partnerships with universities in France, Mexico and Spain. Students pay tuition through UL Lafayette and then go and study for a semester in another country.
This is a good option for students that want to do something longer and want to be fully immersed in the culture for a longer period of time. Students will have to visit the study abroad office, Room 136 in the Student Union, to discuss options that will work for them regarding what they want to study and where.