How to Choose Your Study Abroad Program

Ever since my freshman year of high school, I knew I wanted to study abroad. I spent my study halls back then daydreaming about taking the Métro to class in Paris or going into the rainforests of Costa Rica to learn about biodiversity. So, by the time I finally got to college, I sought out my school’s study abroad resources as fast as I could. I went to an informational session about all the programs that were offered, gathered an armful of brochures from the study abroad fair, and prowled the online database of possible programs like a jaguar looking for prey. I was already itching to pack my bags and catch a flight somewhere—until I realized I actually had to choose where to go. 

I’m an incredibly indecisive person. The more I looked into the kinds of opportunities I had to study abroad, the longer my list became. How was I supposed to pick just one place to go when there were so many possibilities to choose from? At one point, I was sure I’d end up in Vienna for a semester to take psychology courses; a few weeks later, I was set on taking a three-week summer trip to London to study Shakespeare. It took me months to finally decide which program was best suited for me, and it ended up being neither one of those experiences. But the important thing is that I did eventually find the perfect program. If I had to decide where to go all over again, here’s the process I would have taken to choose my study abroad experience. 

See what your school offers 

The best place to start searching is through your home school. Most schools will have some kind of study abroad portal that lists the programs it offers through partner institutions like IES Abroad. What’s nice about a space like this is that it can narrow down your program options from hundreds, if not thousands, to a more reasonable number that’s easier to sift through. Plus, through this portal, you can find out how the credits you earn abroad will transfer back to your home school and how they’ll count toward your degree. 

Think about how long you want to be abroad  

Study abroad programs can range from a few weeks to a full academic year in length. As you look through all the programs your school offers, ask yourself how long you think you could spend abroad based on your personal values and your major. Would you miss your family and friends too much if you spent an academic year away? Would you put your major in jeopardy with a semester program? Would a three-week experience feel too fast to fully enjoy the experience? 

Personally, I wanted to study abroad for as long as I could, but I knew my schedule was tight. I had classes I needed to take at specific times throughout my undergraduate career that would make a year-long program impossible and a semester difficult. That’s why I decided a summer program would fit my needs best; I could still immerse myself in another country without sacrificing requirements for my major. 

Choose where you want to live 

Wherever you choose to study abroad, it’ll be your home base for the duration of your time there. It’s important that you choose somewhere you think you’ll be happy and successful. Ask yourself questions about the weather, the geography, the distance to other cities or countries, the cost of living, the language...There’s a lot to consider when choosing where to live, but it should be a fun process, not something that stresses you out. 

For my program, I knew I wanted to study somewhere in Europe, but that still left me with over 40 countries to choose from. I narrowed that list down by identifying that I wanted to live somewhere that didn’t get hotter than 90° regularly, spoke English or had a large population of English speakers, had friendly locals, and had access to both cities and uninhabited nature. This helped me land on the countries of northern Europe, including Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the Scandinavian nations.  

Consider what aligns with your academic goals 

Once you have a duration and a location in mind, start looking into programs at a deeper level and seeing what each one offers. Depending on your major, you might be seeking different things in a program than other people. For example, if you’re a business major, you might want to find a program that offers a part-time or full-time internship placement. If you’re a Spanish major, you might want to look for programs that offer plenty of classes in Spanish or homestays with Spanish-speaking families. Or if you just want to take some gen eds abroad, look for schools and programs that transfer back to your home institution smoothly. 

In the final stages of choosing where to go, I decided I wanted to try out an internship. As a journalism major, internships are crucial for enhancing the learning students do in class—so why not do it abroad? 

In the end, I committed to the IES Abroad Dublin Summer Internship Program. It checked all my boxes and had some other benefits I liked too, such as an internship placement guarantee and the opportunity to live with other IES Abroad students in a student housing facility. It may have taken lots of consideration to get here, but using some of the steps I listed above, I was able to find the perfect program for me.