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But not every school is as friendly to the idea of its students studying abroad as others are. After all, travel is expensive, and schools in other countries don’t always follow the same educational initiatives as a person’s home school or be held to the same academic standard. Figuring out how odd study abroad classes fit into a student’s home curriculum can sometimes be a nightmare, particularly from a credit perspective, so it’s understandable that some schools might be a little wary of the whole study abroad process.
However, the fact remains that students are very interested in study abroad programs, and despite everything happening in the world right now, students continue to take every opportunity they can to get the heck out of the place they’ve spent so much money to be allowed inside of in the first place.
That got us wondering — which schools out there are the friendliest to the idea of their students going out into the world to find their education? We were curious, so using US News Data on student populations and college study abroad statistics, we put together a list of US schools with the largest study abroad populations in the country.
The full list can be found further down, but first, here’s a quick top ten.
- Miami University
- George Washington University
- Syracuse University
- Boston College
- University of Denver
- Clemson University
- American University
- Stanford University
- Elon University
- Villanova University
How We Did It
The website U.S. News frequently releases lists of information about colleges in the USA, and one of those lists happens to record the percentage of 2016 graduates involved in study abroad programs.
Using that percentage along with student body population sizes also found on the U.S. News website, we were able to estimate the number of students at each listed university who were actively participating in study abroad programs, which got us our final list.
Does your company make the top ten? Read on to the full list to find out.
1. Miami University
Location: Oxford, OH
Percent of Students in Study Abroad: 49%
Total Number of Students in Study Abroad: 9,652
School Description: A public university located in Oxford, OH, the confusingly named Miami University was originally created thanks to an Act of Congress by George Washington himself. With almost fifty percent of its large student population participating in study abroad programs, the school makes it to the very top of our list. It’s come a long way from a school that halved its entire student population after they were found to have covered an entire campus building in snow in protest of the school’s opinion on fraternities.
2. George Washington University
Location: Washington, D.C.
Percent of Students in Study Abroad: 35%
Total Number of Students in Study Abroad: 9,506
School Description: Another school founded thanks to the efforts of the USA’s founding president, this one went ahead and named the whole place after him. George Washington University is a private school located in Washington, DC. While it loses to Miami in overall percentage of students in study abroad programs, the school’s massive student population helps keep GWU in the second spot on our list.
3. Syracuse University
Location: Syracuse, NY
Percent of Students in Study Abroad: 37%
Total Number of Students in Study Abroad: 8,129
School Description: A private school located in Syracuse, NY, Syracuse University was originally founded as a Methodist Institution. The school today has stated that it is nonsectarian, but its ties with the Methodist church still remain.
4. Boston College
Location: Chestnut Hill, MA
Percent of Students in Study Abroad: 58%
Total Number of Students in Study Abroad: 8,034
School Description: Another private religious school, Boston College has maintained all of its original religious ties and continues to refer to itself as a Jesuit Catholic university. Over half of the school’s population is involved with study abroad programs, which remains impressive despite the school’s relatively smaller size.
5. University of Denver
Location: Denver, CO
Percent of Students in Study Abroad: 68%
Total Number of Students in Study Abroad: 7,898
School Description: A private university located in Colorado, Denver University is the oldest private university in the Rocky Mountains. Almost seventy percent of the school’s students study abroad before they graduate, which by percentage alone makes it first in the nation among other research institutions.
6. Clemson University
Location: Clemson, SC
Percent of Students in Study Abroad: 33%
Total Number of Students in Study Abroad: 7,724
School Description: Clemson University is a public school well-known for its Blue Ridge Mountain campus and strong military history, but it’s also impressive for the fact that over a quarter of its massive student population will be involved in some kind of study abroad program by their graduation.
7. American University
Location: Washington, DC
Percent of Students in Study Abroad: 53%
Total Number of Students in Study Abroad: 7,074
School Description: American University is a private school located in Washington, DC, whose location within the nation’s capital along with its status as one of the most politically active colleges in the US certainly contributes to the fact that over half of its students get involved with study abroad programs during their time at AU.
8. Stanford University
Location: Stanford, CA
Percent of Students in Study Abroad: 40%
Total Number of Students in Study Abroad: 6,766
School Description: One of the most selective private schools in the US, Stanford’s history is tied up with the history of the nearby Silicon Valley, one of the most famous tech and startup hubs in the world. Just under half of the student population of Stanford involves themselves in study abroad programs, a number that might be related to just how many internationally successful companies come out of Stanford’s graduates.
9. Elon University
Location: Elon, NC
Percent of Students in Study Abroad: 74%
Total Number of Students in Study Abroad: 4,987
School Description: A private liberal arts school founded in the late 1800s and located on historic campus grounds, Elon is one of the best universities in all of the south, not to mention NC itself. A staggering 3/4 of its student population becomes will be involved in study abroad programs by the time of their graduation.
10. Villanova University
Location: Villanova, PA
Percent of Students in Study Abroad: 42%
Total Number of Students in Study Abroad: 4,554
School Description: Villanova University was founded in the 1840s and remains the oldest Catholic school in Pennsylvania. The historic school puts almost half of their entire student body into study abroad programs by the time they graduate, landing Villanova the tenth and final spot on our list.
Wrapping Up
You’ll find our extended list below, but there’s more to see here at Zippia.
Are you a recent college graduate thinking about moving states? Find out which states college grads tend to stay in and which states they abandon.
Or are you looking for more articles like this one? Check out the schools that are friendliest to nontraditional students.
| School | City | 2016 Students Participating In Study Abroad Programs |
|---|---|---|
| Miami University–Oxford | Oxford | 49% |
| George Washington University | Washington | 35% |
| Syracuse University | Syracuse | 37% |
| Boston College | Chestnut Hill | 58% |
| University of Denver | Denver | 68% |
| Clemson University | Clemson | 33% |
| American University | Washington | 53% |
| Stanford University | Stanford | 40% |
| Elon University | Elon | 74% |
| Villanova University | Villanova | 42% |
| Wake Forest University | Winston-Salem | 57% |
| University of San Diego | San Diego | 51% |
| Case Western Reserve University | Cleveland | 33% |
| Lee University | Cleveland | 72% |
| Yeshiva University | New York | 60% |
| Quinnipiac University | Hamden | 35% |
| Calvin College | Grand Rapids | 75% |
| Dartmouth College | Hanover | 44% |
| Bethel University | St. Paul | 60% |
| Bentley University | Waltham | 50% |
| College of New Jersey | Ewing | 32% |
| St. Olaf College | Northfield | 76% |
| University of Richmond | Univ. of Richmond | 62% |
| Goucher College | Baltimore | 100% |
| Ithaca College | Ithaca | 32% |
| Susquehanna University | Selinsgrove | 97% |
| SUNY–Geneseo | Geneseo | 36% |
| Fairfield University | Fairfield | 38% |
| Colgate University | Hamilton | 66% |
| University of Dallas | Irving | 80% |
| Florida Southern College | Lakeland | 66% |
| Denison University | Granville | 80% |
| Franciscan University of Steubenville | Steubenville | 64% |
| St. Lawrence University | Canton | 68% |
| Bucknell University | Lewisburg | 46% |
| Endicott College | Beverly | 33% |
| Bryant University | Smithfield | 45% |
| George Fox University | Newberg | 40% |
| Queens University of Charlotte | Charlotte | 67% |
| Providence College | Providence | 32% |
| Messiah College | Mechanicsburg | 46% |
| Middlebury College | Middlebury | 58% |
| Babson College | Babson Park | 46% |
| Skidmore College | Saratoga Springs | 54% |
| Taylor University | Upland | 66% |
| Carleton College | Northfield | 67% |
| Gettysburg College | Gettysburg | 58% |
| Dickinson College | Carlisle | 56% |
| College of St. Benedict | St. Joseph | 69% |
| Union College | Schenectady | 61% |
| Macalester College | St. Paul | 62% |
| Augustana College | Rock Island | 51% |
| Bates College | Lewiston | 70% |
| Centre College | Danville | 85% |
| Muhlenberg College | Allentown | 50% |
| Eckerd College | St. Petersburg | 62% |
| Smith College | Northampton | 39% |
| Colby College | Waterville | 60% |
| St. John’s University | Collegeville | 56% |
| Kalamazoo College | Kalamazoo | 70% |
| Bowdoin College | Brunswick | 54% |
| College of the Holy Cross | Worcester | 33% |
| Williams College | Williamstown | 45% |
| Drew University | Madison | 45% |
| Washington and Lee University | Lexington | 44% |
| Hamilton College | Clinton | 50% |
| Grinnell College | Grinnell | 55% |
| Connecticut College | New London | 50% |
| Stonehill College | Easton | 37% |
| Mount Holyoke College | South Hadley | 39% |
| St. Michael’s College | Colchester | 40% |
| Illinois Wesleyan University | Bloomington | 50% |
| Concordia College–Moorhead | Moorhead | 41% |
| St. Mary’s College | Notre Dame | 50% |
| Occidental College | Los Angeles | 41% |
| Wheaton College | Norton | 50% |
| St. Mary’s College of Maryland | St. Marys City | 47% |
| Earlham College | Richmond | 70% |
| Pomona College | Claremont | 46% |
| Kenyon College | Gambier | 43% |
| Sewanee–University of the South | Sewanee | 39% |
| Gordon College | Wenham | 35% |
| Linfield College | McMinnville | 41% |
| Washington and Jefferson College | Washington | 45% |
| Beloit College | Beloit | 45% |
| Wartburg College | Waverly | 42% |
| Goshen College | Goshen | 71% |
| Bryn Mawr College | Bryn Mawr | 33% |
| Swarthmore College | Swarthmore | 36% |
| Alma College | Alma | 37% |
| Central College | Pella | 41% |
| La Roche College | Pittsburgh | 32% |
| Agnes Scott College | Decatur | 53% |
| LaGrange College | LaGrange | 47% |
| Soka University of America | Aliso Viejo | 100% |
| Cornell College | Mount Vernon | 43% |
| Franklin College | Franklin | 33% |
| Ripon College | Ripon | 32% |
| College of the Atlantic | Bar Harbor | 63% |
| Cottey College | Nevada | 42% |
Author
Ryan Morris was a writer for the Zippia Advice blog who tried to make the job process a little more entertaining for all those involved. He obtained his BA and Masters from Appalachian State University.
