What are my options?
There are more than 80 programs offered in the OSS office. One of the most popular programs for studying abroad is the six-week summer term, which Frazier said is a nice way for a student to prepare for a longer semester abroad later in their college career.
Christine Greenman, a psychology senior, spent six weeks at Utrecht University in the Netherlands during the 1999 summer semester. She met all of her deadlines at the last moment, so she didn’t have a lot of time to research her trip.
“I wish now that I had decided a little earlier because now I’m finding other programs and I’m like, ‘Wow! I could have done that?’ I didn’t really do the research that was necessary and I might have found what I liked more,” Greenman said.
Other students want an advantage over others when entering the work force, such as recent UF grad Judy Penaherrera, who knew early in her college career that she wanted to travel internationally but later learned that she could do it through an internship.
“I just wanted to go abroad. That was my main goal,” Penaherrera said. “I knew as a freshman I needed to go abroad.”
The OSS office helped her pinpoint a business program that counted toward her double major in finance and management. Then, her college advisors helped her into a program, which consisted of her taking two classes for six credits at Richmond University in London while interning at Merrill Lynch for nine credits in the 1999 fall semester.
Another way to study abroad is by doing so with a class at UF. Journalism professor John Kaplan took his advanced journalism class, International Journalism Practicum: Latin America in Words and Pictures, to Costa Rica this past fall for 10 days. Professionalism is a must for the lucky 15 students selected for this class, which is only offered in the Fall. Students were flown to Costa Rica halfway through the semester to document an international city through words and pictures.
The program, nicknamed the Florida FlyIns, is a way for student photographers and writers to work together just as they will once in the work force, Kaplan said.
Another class at UF that has been taking its students overseas for nearly a decade is the Greek Production Tour class. Organized by theater professor Dr. Judith Williams, the Summer C course travels to various parts of the world every other summer to put on a production of a Shakespeare play. The class has put on productions in remote lands including England, Russia and Austria. The next trip will be this summer when they will perform in Greece.
Tryouts for the production took place in November, but it is a class that is open to anyone, not just theater majors. Each student is responsible to fund his/her trip, and Williams estimates the cost per student to be anywhere from $3,000 to $3,500 for the two weeks that the class is abroad.
Whether you want to spice up your resume, gain a new understanding of the world or just yearn for adventure, the study abroad programs available to students may be your answer. What intriguing new skill will you bring back to UF?