Studying abroad while earning credit at Iowa State is an option an increasing number of ISU students are taking advantage of.

According to Bert Schneiders, a study abroad advisor, about 500 to 600 ISU students travel abroad each year.

“Students at Iowa State can travel to virtually any country around the world through the Study Abroad Program. If ISU doesn’t have a direct association with the country the student wants to travel to, they can go through another university,” Schneiders said.

Options vary from student to student.

“They can travel, study or work while they are abroad,” Schneiders said. “Most students choose to study at a foreign college or university. They can take one course for three or four weeks or take 15 or 16 credits for a semester at a foreign school.”

Erin Wilson, a junior in agricultural education and animal science, will be leaving in early January to spend a semester working in the agricultural sector of Austria. She said she became interested in studying abroad when she heard several friends talk about the experience.

“I have wanted to do this since high school, and now I finally got the opportunity,” Wilson said.

Wilson said she will probably receive about 10 elective credits for her experience abroad. “It may set me back in school a little bit, but the long-term benefits will be good,” she said.

Wilson encourages others to take advantage of the program. “It expands your cultural and social experiences, which will be helpful in the future,” she said.

Dan Belzer, a junior in agricultural education, spent a year in Germany through a government exchange and received six college credits for his experience. “I spent the first two months in language school and the next 10 months working on a dairy farm and attending an agriculture school,” Belzer said.

Belzer said the experience helped him grow as a person. He added that he would encourage others to grasp the opportunity to travel abroad. “Even if I wouldn’t have received college credit for it, I would do it again because it was a great experience,” he said.

Jamie Romer, a senior in agricultural education and horticulture, traveled to Russia for a month through the FFA’s Work Experience Abroad Program. He taught economics and marketing at a Russian agricultural academy.

“If nothing else, it teaches you that the United States is fortunate to have things as simple as safe drinking water, which we take for granted,” he said.

The Study Abroad Center is located in Room 5 of Hamilton Hall. There students can access an international resource library and consult with advisors who can provide personal advising, financial aid and scholarship information.