Summers Abroad, Harvard-Style

The Harvard Summer School, in collaboration with the Office of International Programs (OIP), has branched out far and wide across the globe with its summer study abroad offerings. Fourteen programs, all of which are taught by the Harvard faculty, are being offered this year in locations such as Paris, Beijing, Oxford, and Tiwanaku, Bolivia. Venice will be the home of program offerings in economics and environmental science, while previously neglected science concentrators can head to Bonn to conduct life sciences research under the tutelage of Harvard faculty. We applaud the College for making progress in increasing not only the number of sites but also the diversity of course offerings, and hope that Harvard uses this as a stepping stone to expand term-time and, potentially, J-term abroad offerings.

Over the last few years, the College has done away with what at times was a hopelessly confusing process for students interested in studying abroad. Just five years ago, Harvard offered only two programs abroad, leaving most students to look elsewhere for more varied course offerings. If their hunt for a program through Harvard’s scattered resources proved successful, they would be greeted by mounds of paperwork and bureaucracy in the way of petitions for credit.

Thankfully, today, much of the frustrating hurdles have been done away with, and Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) administrators can be found eagerly pleading with students to go abroad through brochures, fairs, and advising. Nevertheless, more can be done.

Financial burden still too often inhibits students desiring to study abroad from actually venturing out of Cambridge. Harvard-sponsored programs, regardless of their locations, have Harvardian price tags. The summer programs, which last from three to six weeks, cost between $4,500 and $7,700, excluding airfare, a health insurance fee, and so on. Although we are pleased to see that financial aid and a limited number of grants are available for these opportunities, in line with the current plans called for by the Committee on Education Abroad, we hope to see these funds expand to keep pace with the growing study abroad program.

Reservations about the quality of education outside the walls of Harvard also play an important role in inhibiting students from leaving Cambridge. Such doubts are especially common among students in the sciences, where sequenced curricula depend on consistently solid instruction. Last year, science concentrators represented a disproportionately small number of total students studying abroad (only 15 percent). Recruiting Harvard science faculty to teach abroad and developing partnerships with world-class laboratories and institutions must remain a priority for study abroad programming.

Most importantly, while the latest developments in the Harvard Summer School study abroad programs are commendable, we urge the College to use these programs as a model to invest in term-time international programs as well. Furthermore, if and when the much-ballyhooed January-term takes effect, the College should create international opportunities for students then as well. We encourage the College to continue on its successful path in improving study abroad programs in order to give more students the chance to go beyond our ivy gates to pursue their education.