1. Advising Resources of Study Abroad

Have you ever consider advising about study abroad? In International Academic Programs Resource Center, students come to peer advisors or professional advisors and ask questions about study abroad programs. Want to know more? Check out the audio below to know more about study abroad advising 👇

Audio Transcript:

The IAP support UW students with the best advising resources for study abroad.

UW-Madison has been offering students with study abroad opportunities through International Academic Programs, or the IAP. UW students who are interested in study abroad programs can find helpful resources in the IAP resource center.

Peer advisors are also an important part of the study abroad advising. According to senior study abroad advisor Jessa Boche, peer advisors have participated in study abroad programs. They are trained to talk with students about general information of study abroad and help narrow down program options.

“if you feel like really open as far as where you want to study and when you want to study it can be a little overwhelming to narrow it down. So, they kind of help, just show how things are organized and talk about just general um, facts about studying abroad that can help inform students that are making decisions.”

The IAP cooperates with departments across the campus to provide students with study abroad information as well. Dan Gold, the director of the IAP, introduces Major Advising Pages, or MAPS, which is a study abroad advising sheet for a particular major that helps students keep track of their graduation.

“We’ve created this template that students, advisors, and the department, and our office can work on together to make sure… Ok if you are history major, here is a list of consideration you should think of in terms of what programs, what courses, when and your academic, career, and so forth and so forth.”

Online advising is another choice for students if they have questions and are unable to have a face-to-face meeting with advisors. IAP’s website also provides an overview for each study abroad program and other general information to students who want to explore study abroad programs of UW-Madison.

2. UW-Madison’s Study Abroad Programs Connect Students with the World

On the third floor of the Red Gym, many types of student services and programs here are waiting for students from University of Wisconsin-Madison to visit, and the International Academic Programs, or IAP, is one of the most valuable resource centers on the campus.

As the IAP notes on its website, “UW-Madison is ranked 18^th among all U.S. universities and colleges for total students studying abroad.” And according to IAP’s 2018-19 annual report, nearly a third of UW-Madison undergraduates who graduated in 2018-19 have studied abroad. With the programs’ great popularity and high reputation, UW-Madison aims to provide UW students with one of the best study abroad experiences in their college life.

But why is studying abroad so attractive? The answer for that goes back to not only the study abroad program itself, but also how it influences UW-Madison students from multiple aspects.

Study Abroad programs offer UW-Madison students a wide range of opportunities to live and study in a new environment while influencing students personally, academically and even professionally.

As a returned student, Hermione Wang once took two classes in her Study Abroad program in Demark, Sweden and Germany last summer. Overall, her study abroad experience broadened her horizon and she learned a lot both inside and outside of the classroom.

“For the Criminal Psychology class, we went to the juvenile prison in Demark,” Wang explained. “We got to see what the prison looks like, like dorms, where they get to eat and take classes. I learned a lot about prisons and the judicial system in Demark.”

Another ethnic class was also impressive for Wang because she was learning through visiting real historical sites like a concentration camp in Germany that was once held by both Germany and the Soviet Union. Besides this, Wang also learned much by going to museums, lectures and movies.

“When you are actually seeing stuff while learning is really different from just looking at the book and trying to get a picture of what it looks like,” Wang said.

Language learning programs are also included in study abroad programs. By living in a foreign-language environment for some time, students can improve their language skills and communicate better with foreign friends. This kind of program is also beneficial for them to get better understandings of different cultures and become more independent and confident when talking with people from other countries.

Not only do students take classes in a foreign country while studying abroad, but some of them may also gain social experience by doing an internship.

Study Abroad programs with internships are a crucial part of all UW-Madison’s study abroad programs. Students participate in these programs will have opportunities to go through the entire process of job application and start to work in their major-related fields. While working at a real company, students can develop professional skills and build an international resume to prepare them for their long-term career paths.

According to Dan Gold, the director of the IAP, Study Abroad experience benefits students by fostering abilities such as adaptability, flexibility, independence and maturity. These personalities are also what employers find from top job candidates. Therefore, students returned from study abroad programs become more competitive than others in the job market in terms of personal growth and professional experience.

Despite various benefits of study abroad programs, students view financial cost as an important factor when they are considering living and studying in a new environment. Jessa Boche, a senior study abroad advisor in UW-Madison, she elaborated on several ways for students to fund their programs.

Students often fund their study-abroad programs through scholarships and other financial aid. IAP’s Operations Overview 2018-19 showed that IAP participants won a total scholarship amount of $1,571,166, and a third of them received a financial award towards their program participation as well.

But there is more than official funding like scholarships and financial aid. According to Boche, some students who want to fund their study abroad experience also used “creative fundraising,” which is to build platforms online to talk about the program and how it will benefit them to encourage people to donate money for the program. With the help of various funding approaches, IAP endeavors to offer prospective students with affordable study abroad opportunities.

With a wide range of programs and funding, International Academic Programs make a great effort on providing UW-Madison students with one of the best and affordable study abroad experience in their college life, which benefit them personally, academically and professionally.

---

---

Sources:

Study Abroad website: https://studyabroad.wisc.edu/annual-report-2018-19/

IAP’s Operations Overview 2018-19

IAP’s Participation Overview 2018-19

---