USD Magazine, Spring 1998

T in another country is one thing. RAVEL Living abroad and attending classes at a local university is quite another. University of San Diego students who take advantage of for– eign study programs - a phrase now replacing the traditional "study abroad" - immerse themselves in a new culture and throw away all their notions of the best or proper way to live. They open their hearts and minds to an ideal expressed in the beginning of this century by Lady Nancy Astor: "Real education should educate us out of self into something far finer - into a selflessness which links us with all humanity." Whether they spend a summer, semester or full academic year in another country, study abroad students venture into unknown worlds and learn to shed cultural biases. Through classes, new friendships and, often, weekend travel, the students begin to sense how other people live and understand how they fit into a global culture. USO-sponsored programs in Oxford, England, and Guadalajara, Mexico, are two of the most popular with undergraduate students, who generally go abroad in their junior year. The university also works with colleges in Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Japan, where American students can go for a semester and take courses that automatically transfer into USO credits. The Schools of Business Administration, Education and Law also feature foreign study programs tailored to meet the academic interests of their majors. The January intersession and summer months often find professors traveling with full classes to Spain or Hong Kong for focused study of a particular topic. Students also have the option of applying to independent programs and petitioning for credit before they leave for their chosen countries. People who take this route say academic advisers and financial aid counselors are flexible and willing to help students make the trip happen. Foreign study isn't for everyone, but in the 10 years she's coordinated the Oxford program, Virginia Muller, professor of polit– ical science, has learned sometimes all it takes is a little convincing. "What I love most is seeing students come back to my office after a study abroad experience and rave about the courses, and say how glad they are I pushed them to go," Muller says. "This is a way I see tangible evidence that something I have done has made a difference in someone's life."