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Benefits of Study Abroad

  • Overview
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  • How to Study Abroad
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Home | Study Abroad | Benefits of Study Abroad

Can studying abroad jump-start your career? Our findings say yes!

By living and learning abroad, IES Abroad students develop highly sought-after professional skills—adaptability, communication, self-awareness, confidence—that not only make them more hirable, but also launch their career. Our survey findings show key career benefits of study abroad, including:

Increased Hireability

Most IES Abroad alumni feel that studying abroad helped them develop valuable job skills, such as language proficiency, cultural understanding, tolerance for ambiguity, adaptability, and self-confidence.

Jobs Secured More Quickly After Graduation

Nearly three quarters of IES Abroad alumni secured their first job within two months of graduation.

Higher Starting Salaries

IES Abroad alumni earn an average of $6,000 more in starting salaries (compared to recent U.S. college graduates from the National Career Outcomes Report).

Higher Acceptance Into Grad School

90% of IES Abroad alumni continuing on to graduate school earned admission into their 1st or 2nd choice graduate or professional school.

Employers understand the extraordinary benefits of study abroad, and many seek out graduates who made their study abroad dreams a reality. After all, the skills you learn when you’re abroad—adaptability, global understanding, leadership, and independence, to name a few—are directly applicable to finding success in any professional environment. From the boardroom to the classroom and everywhere in-between, changed lives change the world.

Gregory D. Hess, PhD., President & CEO of IES Abroad

IES Abroad Alumni Career Outcomes Research

From a ground-breaking 50-year longitudinal study (2002) to a timely study of economic recession/post-recession outcomes (2012), IES Abroad has a rich history of leading the field of international education in quantitative research on the practical outcomes of studying abroad. The most recent study was conducted in April 2016 to assess the impact study abroad has on a recent graduate's career. A total of 1,205 IES Abroad alumni who graduated college between 2012 and 2015 responded to the survey.

For more information, explore the 2016 Career Outcomes of Study Abroad Students survey results. You can also view the 2012 Recent Graduates Survey: The Impact of Studying Abroad on Recent College Graduates’ Careers as well as the results of our 50-Year Alumni Study.

Something unexpected is just around the world. Study abroad is your chance to explore it.

landscape photo with students stretching arms out

See the world.
Pretty soon you'll realize weekends are meant for travel...to another country.

students in language class

Develop your language skills.
When you study abroad, you don't just learn the language, you live it!

internships student in soccer stadium

Gain professional experience.
An international internship is a great way to boost your résumé.

student posing by mountains and river

Step outside of your comfort zone.
Walking to class, catching a bus to another part of town, and chatting with locals are the daily adventures where language and culture collide—and the study abroad experience comes alive.

selfie of students by the beach

Form everlasting friendships.
From classmates to host families, before you know it strangers become friends.

student jumps in front of plaza

Increase your self-confidence.
Our students know it best: “The first person you find abroad is yourself.”
- Kiersten M. | IES Abroad London

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IES Abroad

Founded in 1950, IES Abroad is a not-for-profit provider with 140+ study abroad and internship programs around the world for college/university students.

IES Abroad comprises study abroad programming, Customized & Faculty-Led Programs, IES Internships, and the Study Abroad Foundation (SAF).

IES Abroad is a 501(c)(3) entity. The federal tax identification number for IES Abroad is 36-2251912.

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