St. Joe’s students to study abroad across 15 countries
The Saint Joseph’s University Semester Abroad program applications closed on March 1, 2017 and the Summer Term Abroad programs came to a close on March 15, 2017.
The fall semester study abroad program includes 152 students traveling to 15 different countries and one program that includes multiple destinations.
“We have 37 approved programs at this point and those are programs that have been thoroughly reviewed,” said Kelly Gregg, assistant director for Semester Abroad. “There is also an option for a student to petition for a non-approved program.”
The application for study abroad includes four short essay questions and requires two faculty recommendations. The application also includes recording the classes students want to take while abroad and students must have a minimum 2.5 GPA, although different programs may have alternative requirements.
“They are applying for approval from St. Joe’s as a St. Joe’s student, and then they are also applying for admission into their program,” Gregg said.
The university currently offers learning opportunities in 20 different countries.
“I hope that students are choosing to spend the semester abroad because it can benefit them academically,” Gregg said. “We also have programs on our approved list that offer an internship opportunity abroad or a service learning course.”
The programs allow students to take classes in another country and those credits transfer back to St. Joe’s along with the earned grades.
“Ideally, students are taking courses that are going to count towards their degree requirements,” Gregg said. “It gives the opportunity to compare and contrast with something offered at St. Joe’s to something that not every school offers.”
Most students travel to Italy during the fall semester when they choose to study abroad. In fact, 55 students are going to Italy this upcoming fall.
“Italy is certainly a popular destination with our students, but we love to see students kind of think outside of the box and maybe look at some alternative destinations,” Gregg said.
Billy Flynn, ’19, is studying abroad at Florence University of the Arts (FUA)-Fairfield University where there are multiple food marketing classes.
“I wanted to study abroad because I’m actually declaring food marketing as my major this semester which is really exciting,” Flynn said. “Just the fact that it is in Italy I thought that it would be a perfect match.”
Flynn is excited to learn about the culture in Florence and how it is structured politically and economically.
Erin Davison, ’19, came to St. Joe’s because of her interest in the Brussels Internship Program.
“I have always wanted to go out of the country and do different things,” Davison said. “As an international relations major I think it is really pertinent that I do so.”
Gregg wants students to benefit from the opportunity and gain more than just credits from studying abroad.
“Taking the opportunity for some of our programs to do an internship or a service learning component is really encouraged,” Gregg said. “If students can make it work for them, it enhances the experiences; something beyond just taking classes.”
Specifically, the Brussels Internship Program consists of students living at the Leuven Institute for Ireland in Europe, located in Leuven, Belgium, where classes are taken two days of the week at the institute and the students intern with the European Parliament in Brussels two other days of the week.
“I would love to live outside of the United States after graduation, whether it be with an institution like the European Union or something else,” Davison said. “The program really gives you hands on experience.”
Davison also looks forward to being able to travel to different places in Europe on the weekends.
“Brussels is in the middle of Europe and you can get everywhere from Brussels and we have Fridays off so I plan on using my weekends to travel,” Davison said.
When Davison goes abroad she will take five classes, with the internship counting as one. Her other classes include European Law, European Economics, European History and European Art History.
“Whenever I think of it, I get very scared because I don’t speak French or German, but I also get very excited because I think it is a once in a lifetime experience just being immersed in a new culture,” Davison said.
