More information available study abroad opportunities and other programs

While the majority of Angelo State University students are enjoying a summer respite from their studies, about 130 are taking advantage of ASU's study abroad program to earn course credit while seeing the world.Six of the eight study abroad trips available this summer already have been completed, including ASU's first-ever trips to Bulgaria and Spain. Different Course subjects included film and French language, the European Union and European culture France, Belgium, Germany and Amsterdam, international management (Italy, Greece and Bulgaria), Spanish language (Spain), economics and international business, and international business and public policy issues.

Two more student groups will leave later this week for various locations to study criminal justice and biology United Kingdom, France and Germany. Overall, the summer program has come a long way from 2007 when 54 ASU students went on summer study abroad trips almost exclusively to study international business.We started working with the other academic colleges, encouraging them to participate more,said Sharynn Tomlin, director of ASU's Center for International Studies.We've had great success with business, education, liberal arts and sciences, and that will continue on. We are now working with the College of Nursing and Allied Health on both study abroad and exchange programs. We are also getting more and younger faculty involved in leading the study abroad trips.

In addition to the greater variety of available trips and study subjects, another major factor in the increased number of students taking advantage of summer study abroad is the ASU International Scholarship program that was introduced in 2008. Every student taking a summer trip is awarded a scholarship that covers 50 percent to 70 percent of the total cost. To qualify for study abroad, students must have a 2.75 overall grade point average, have completed at least two full semesters of course work at ASU and have accumulated at least 30 credit hours by the fall semester before their proposed summer trip.

Study abroad is an amazing experience for students,Tomlin said,and the scholarships are allowing us to put our money where our mouth is in terms of preparing them to really be globally aware and knowledgeable individuals.ASU students hoping to study abroad next summer can look forward to as many as 13 trips to choose from in a variety of study subjects, including trips to numerous European countries, Costa Rica and Panama, Africa, South Korea and China.

While the number of ASU students studying abroad has increased, so has the number of international students attending Angelo State through exchange programs and the university's English Language Learners' Institute (ELLI), and on their own. Through those programs, students come to ASU each year from South Korea, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Italy and Scotland.Recently, new exchange agreements have been signed with additional schools in France and South Korea as well as a school in Poland. Tomlin expects to begin exchanging students with those schools by the fall of 2012. Meanwhile, she and her staff continue working on exchange programs with schools in other locations that will both accept ASU students and send their own to ASU.

"There are some programs in Brazil that we are looking at,Tomlin said,as well as one possibility in Canada. To be honest, we almost have more inquiries from other schools wanting to do exchange programs than we have time to handle. We are slowly making progress around the world. The only places we aren't looking at are the Middle East and the Antarctic.With the increases in both ASU students studying abroad and international students heading to the Angelo State campus, the Center for International Studies is growing even faster than expected as it thrives in its mission to help ASU provide quality education with a more global perspective.