Study Abroad At UST

The Institute of International Education’s “Open Doors Report 2008” recently released its annual report about U.S. students who study abroad during college. It shows that, once again, the University of St. Thomas remains among the leading American institutions for the percentage of undergraduate students who study abroad.

The Open Doors Report 2008 analyzes data from the 2006-07 academic year, in which St. Thomas’ participation rate, 61.1 percent, was again ranked fifth nationally among doctoral institutions. The rate is based on the number of undergraduate students who participated in study-abroad programs (665) and the number of undergraduate degrees conferred (1,089).

These rankings mark the fifth year that St. Thomas has been ranked as a “doctoral/research” institution, a category that typically includes much larger schools. This year’s top five schools mirrored last year’s results, with Yeshiva University in New York coming in first, followed by the University of Denver, Wake Forest University and Dartmouth University. Just behind St. Thomas were the University of San Diego, the University of Notre Dame, Duke University, American University, and Georgetown University and Pepperdine University tied for 10th place.

These numbers show a slight increase from St. Thomas’ previous academic year’s rankings in 2005-06, in which St. Thomas also ranked fifth, with 659 students who studied abroad, compared with 665 in 2006-07.

Study-abroad participation rates also were strong at other Minnesota colleges and universities. Top-20 master’s institutions included Bethel University, 12th (47.5 percent); Augsburg College, 34th (32.6 percent); and the College of St. Catherine, 37th (31.2 percent).

Earning top participation rates at colleges awarding bachelor’s degrees were: University of Minnesota-Morris, third (117.1 percent); St. Olaf College, 10th (86.3 percent); Concordia College – Moorhead, 18th (74.8 percent); Carleton College, 21st (73 percent); and Macalester College, 25th (68.5 percent).

In 2006-07, Minnesota sent 8,484 students outside of the United States, down 1.5 percent from the 8,614 students who ventured abroad in 2005-2006. Nationally, study-abroad participation was up 8 percent, with 241,791 studying internationally in 2006-07.

New Programs at St. Thomas

A handful of new programs are helping to expand St. Thomas international reach as well as offer students a broader range of offerings for international enrichment.

St. Thomas newest program, the Student Teaching Abroad Program, adds an underrepresented group to the study-abroad roster. Developed jointly by the School of Education and the International Education Center, it provides education majors student-teaching opportunities in more than 70 countries. This fall, three students participated in the program, traveling to Australia, Ecuador and Honduras.

Through consortia to which St. Thomas belongs, the IEC also has added a semester program in Jordan for Middle East studies and Arabic as well as a program in Siena, Italy, to provide opportunities, in addition to Rome, for students studying in Italy.

Also in the works is the first program that will take place in Antarctica. Tentatively slated for January Term 2010, the course “Penguins, Icebergs and Amazon Jungles” could mark the first time St. Thomas takes students to all seven continents during the same semester. The laboratory science course is a basic study of the environment of the Earth and will explore patterns of change in the Antarctic as well as the impact of human activity on the Earth.

Total foreign-student enrollment holds steady, undergraduate enrollment increases

Since 1949 the Institute of International Education also has conducted an annual statistical survey of international students in the United States, and with the support of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs since the early 1970s.

Open Doors Report 2008 reports more recent results for rankings of international students studying in the United States. With 9,890 international students studying in Minnesota in the 2007-08 academic year, Minnesota ranked 18th in the nation, climbing one notch from last year, for its total number of foreign students. This indicates a 9.3 percent increase over the previous academic year, when 9,048 international students chose to study in Minnesota. In comparison, the international student rate increased 7 percent nationally, with 623,805 foreign students studying in the U.S.

Nationally, 3.9 percent of all students studying in the United States come from outside the 50 states.

St. Thomas ranks fourth in Minnesota and was the top private institution, based on number of students, with 353 students sponsored by the university in 2007-08, up slightly from last year (331). The top three Minnesota schools remained unchanged from last year, with the University of Minnesota ranked first (3,756), followed by St. Cloud State University (1,183) and Minnesota State University–Mankato (574).

The total number of graduate and undergraduate international students enrolled at St. Thomas dropped slightly (278 in fall 2006, 311 in fall 2007 and 301 in fall 2008); however, the Office of International Admissions at St. Thomas reports a steady increase in undergraduate international students over the past three academic years.

In fall 2006, 56 undergraduate students enrolled; in fall 2007, the number jumped to 83 undergraduate students, a 32 percent increase. In fall 2008, there were more still, with 89 undergraduate international students enrolled. This is a record high since the university began tracking these numbers in 1995. The top countries of origin for all international students at St. Thomas in fall 2008 were, again, in order, India, China and Uganda.