More and More American Students Study Overseas

A record number of American exchange students has been reported by the United States Institute of International Education (IIE) in 2007. This number is said to have increased 150% over the last ten years. It has always been the goal of the United States government to open up opportunities for young United States citizens to have their education abroad. According to the IIE, around 223,000 college students from the US took credits abroad in the academic year 2005-2006. Compared to the 1995-1996 statistics of about 90,000 exchange students, there is indeed a very significant trend observed.

The United States Department of State sponsors various activities which allow American students to have learning opportunities in other countries, according to Karen Hughes, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Some examples of these government-sponsored activities are the National Security Language Initiative, the Fulbright US Student Program, and the Gilman Scholarships.

Under Secretary Hughes explains that the Gilman Scholarships, was established in memory of Benjamin A. Gilman, former House International Relations Committee Chairman. These international scholarship opportunities allow undergraduates, especially from minority communities, to experience studying and learning abroad. This means that the chance to study abroad does not exempt students from low-income groups from gaining benefits from an international education.

Another example, as mentioned earlier, was the National Security Language Initiative (NSLI) which was established by President George Bush in 2006. The program was launched to focus on the growing need for knowledge in critical languages such as Chinese, Russian, Persian, Hindi, and Arabic, among others. Hughes further stresses that one of the goals of the NSLI is to broaden the cultural perspective of US students, as well as build important language skills that can be used in the future. The NSLI covers special curricula which are included in levels as early as kindergarten and well into college.

The Institute for International Education (IIE) reported in 2007 that the most popular places where American students decide to go for their education are in nations from the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The highest increase was noted in the Middle East, which rose to up to 31% as compared to the previous year. Visits of US students to Asia and Africa increased by 26% and 19% respectively. And a 14% increase of US students was seen in Latin American Nations.

As stated by the same report by the IIE, most of the American students who opt to study abroad take majors in business management, the humanities, and the social sciences. Most of these students take part in eight-week programs of shorter, while there are others who stay for a whole semester up to a full academic year or more.