Study Abroad Numbers Soar

The number of students choosing to study abroad this fall nearly doubled over last year, although the proportion of students opting to take classes overseas remained less than 3 percent of the College.

Ninety-three students are currently participating in recognized study abroad programs, as compared with 51 at this time last year, according to Office of International Programs (OIP) Director Jane Edwards.

While the increase is significant, it falls far short of the benchmark set by Dean of the College Benedict H. Gross ’71.

“I’d like to get that at least up to a quarter of the class, maybe a third of the class [to study abroad],” Gross told The Crimson last week.

But the OIP is continuing to work to make study abroad an easier and more attractive option, Edwards said.

“A couple of concentrations made changes in their curricular structure to make it easier to take a junior semester abroad,” Edwards said, citing the Department of History in particular. “We’re hoping more concentrations will see a way to make those kinds of changes.”

Edwards also said a decrease in paperwork served as both a reason for the recent jump and a way to promote future increases.

“The fewer bits of paper there are floating around, the more students will feel they want to go,” she said. “I’m in the process of taking a machete to the bureaucracy of the process.”

This year’s increase comes in the wake of a decision last spring to allow students an exemption from one Core area requirement for each semester spent studying abroad.

“[The increase] came from a combination of factors, but the Core exemption is definitely a big piece of it,” Edwards said. “There was a good deal more talk among students about this being a viable experience.”

That Core exemption was part of a broader effort by faculty and administrators to encourage students to study abroad. In the past year, the school created a self-contained study abroad office, simplified the application process, and added more programs to the list of those pre-approved for credit.

Students in the past had criticized the OIP for being too rigid in its approval of programs, and five to 10 more programs were added to the list of accredited options this year. But Edwards said she thinks the quality, not quantity, of the programs is key.

“Too many programs can get confusing,” she said. “We want to make sure that all the options students need are available, but that doesn’t mean we need six versions of the same option.”

This year’s increase in students studying abroad can be attributed to a larger number participating in long-standing pre-approved programs rather than popularity of newly-accredited options, Edwards said.

Edwards also stressed knowledgeable advising as a vital piece of encouraging students to take time overseas. This year, the OIP will try to enlist those students who have studied abroad to act as peer counselors those considering their options.

The increase in students studying abroad, combined with the dedication of a new floor at 10 DeWolfe St. to undergraduate housing, has also slightly alleviated the housing crunch of the past several years, said College Housing Officer David Woodberry.

This summer, the College took over the sixth floor of 10 DeWolfe St., completing their two-phase incorporation of the upper three floors of the former faculty housing.

“This year and last year, we added 105 beds to the College by increasing DeWolfe and renovations to Jordan,” Woodberry said. “As a result, most Houses got about seven or eight fewer students.”

With the exception of Cabot, Dunster and Pforzheimer House, all upperclass Houses have fewer students this year than last.

—Staff Writer Katharine A. Kaplan can be reached at kkaplan@fas.harvard.edu.