Each year, the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Institute of International Education (IIE) release findings from the 2020 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange. This report highlights international educational exchange and includes international student enrollments, as well as the numbers for U.S. students studying abroad for credit at their home universities or colleges.
According to the 2020 Open Doors annual data, the UofSC Education Abroad office is recognized for being ranked 29th among the top 40 doctorate-granting universities for total number of study abroad students. UofSC also ranked 13th of the top 20 institutions for mid length duration, defined as one semester abroad, up one spot up from the previous year.
“It is wonderful that we continue to see growth in our mid-length education abroad experiences. To me this says students really see the value of spending a full semester abroad and continue to invest in making it a part of their plans while at UofSC. Being abroad for any amount of time is impactful, but spending a full semester abroad really allows students to immerse themselves in a new culture”, says Allison Kretschmar, interim assistant director for the Education Abroad Office.
In the 2018-2019 academic year, the Education Abroad office sent 1,843 students abroad to 63 countries, and recorded 1,913 total student experiences. Using the Open Doors calculation formula,19% of UofSC undergraduate graduating students participated in an education abroad experience.
“Global Carolina has learned a great deal from our experiences in the past years, and we are looking forward to exploring new program models for expansion and improvement. I am confident that our commitment to equitable virtual international education, combined with the dedication of our staff and faculty who support and lead education abroad activities, will offer new opportunities for our office to excel in the future,” said Magdalena Grudzinski-Hall, the interim executive director of Global Carolina and director of the Education Abroad Office.