Why Study Abroad? 10 Compelling Reasons:

1. Earn academic credit while traveling the world                  

2. Enhance your resume

3. Immerse yourself in another culture

4. Improve your foreign language skills

5. Establish lifetime friendships with people from around the world

6. Gain a new perspective on the U.S. by living elsewhere

7. You can't afford not to study abroad

8. Gain life-changing, life-enhancing skills

9. Impress Graduate schools & future employers
10. Have fun!

1. Earn academic credit toward your Purchase College degree, while traveling the world!

With planning, you can take courses specific to your major(s), minor, general education, or elective requirements. You may also do internships and independent study projects abroad, with approval from your academic department. All grades and credits from abroad will become part of your transcript and be applied toward your degree, as long as you follow the academic policies and procedures for study abroad.

2. Enahance your resume

Studying abroad will set you apart from other graduates in the increasingly competitive global job marketplace. The skills you gain while living abroad will give you an advantage in just about any career field. Did you know that fewer than 10% of state university students have had this experience yet more than 60% of private college students do? Be counted among the growing number of Purchase College students to become a " U.S. world citizen."

3. Immerse yourself in another culture
Studying abroad is a unique opportunity to actually live in another culture, not simply be a tourist or observer. Being a student in another country allows you an opportunity to experience the traditions, culture, and society from the inside.

4. Improve your foreign language skills
Intimidated by another language? Maybe you're ready to become fluent in your second or even third language? Everyone can enhance their language skills when studying abroad. Learn a language by living it, not by reading it in a textbook, and complete your language requirement, abroad.

English only? Many programs take place in English-only institutions, such as universities in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, Egypt, India and more. Other programs offer the opportunity to take courses in English in a non-English speaking country.

5. Make new friendships that will last a lifetime

You are likely to become "globally-minded" by studying abroad because you will have the advantage of meeting people from other cultures and countries. You will make lifetime friends who are from all over the U.S., your host country, and around the world. You will be a personal ambassador and link to the U.S for those in your host country, and will bring that global mindedness back to friends and family members who have never been abroad.

6. Gain a new perspective about the U.S.

See your home from the perspective of others. You will gain a more informed perspective on world affairs and the global community when you engage in conversations with students and citizens from your host country and other countries. You will begin to understand the range of opinions and complexities when you're in a totally different place in the world. You will bring those insights home when you return.

7. Studying abroad is affordable!

Study abroad usually does cost more than studying on campus, but, with planning, all undergraduate students can afford to go abroad. If you currently receive financial aid, your aid can be applied to your program abroad. There are also scholarships (need- and merit-based), grants, and low-interest loans available to students studying abroad. The costs of education abroad programs vary. It is possible to find a program that fits your budget.