Investigation of Myths and Realities of Studying Abroad

Final Paper pdf 138KB

Students often cite a number of perceived barriers preventing them from studying abroad. These barriers are diverse and include: cost associated with study abroad, lack of knowledge of a foreign language, limited availability of courses causing a delay in graduation, difficulties transferring courses from a foreign institution, and negative impact on their GPA due to taking courses at a non-US university. In this study, these anticipated barriers were investigated to determine if they were myths for engineering students or if they represent real difficulties. Data were collected for students that participated in semester-long programs between 2010 and 2015. We examined cumulative GPA before and after their study abroad, the number of semesters it took for the students to graduate and compared to students that had not done a study abroad, and the pass rate for courses taken at a foreign institution. Furthermore, we subdivided students by the geographical location of their study abroad experience to determine if this had an impact, and by countries that were native and non-native English speakers.

Author(s):

James Warnock    
Bagley College of Engineering
Mississippi State University
United States

Galyna Melnychuk    
Bagley College of Engineering
Mississippi State University
United States