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Why Study Abroad?


Studying abroad can be one of the highlights of your career at WKU and is an excellent way to achieve personal, academic, and professional development. Wonderful and challenging experiences await you as you travel across the globe for an internship, service-learning project, or academic program that fits into your degree plan.

Personal Development

International education programs provide you the opportunity to extend your learning beyond the borders of the WKU campus, make global connections, and build skills which are valuable to future employers. Students who study abroad often return with a greater awareness of the world and global issues, a better understanding of their own culture, increased interpersonal, cross-cultural and leadership skills, and improved self-confidence—all skills that will serve you well in the future.

Academic Achievement

There are a number of academic benefits you can gain from a short or long-term overseas program! Evidence shows that students who study abroad are more likely to graduate from college, have a higher GPA, and report that they learned more in comparison to other students. In addition, study abroad students are likely to gain a deeper, more global perspective of course content and to develop skills including adaptability, effective communication with diverse groups of people, and foreign language skills.

Career Attainment

Study abroad often includes an experiential, hands-on learning component which allows you to gain real-life experience in your coursework or field of interest, experience which is very valuable to employers. Research has shown that those who have studied abroad are more likely to get hired sooner after graduation and have a higher starting salary than those who did not. As graduates compete for jobs in this global economy, study abroad is something that can set you apart!

Want to learn more? Check out the articles below for additional reasons why you should consider study abroad.



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 Last Modified 12/1/20