Studying abroad is a staple on many students’ college bucket list. This May, students in the College of Human Sciences will have the opportunity to check that box on their list as they travel to South Africa and Chile.

These two international programs are new for the college. A trip to South Africa was offered last year, but due to lack of interest the trip had to be cancelled.

“Our college has been focusing on, in this day and age, trying to get students to go to a place we are much less familiar with,” said Andrew Hong, director of international programs. “We were really focusing on diversifying the program. Luckily, we had some connections in South Africa and Chile, so it fits nicely with our goal to diversify the study abroad programs.”

International Programs have found that students tend to travel to European countries more than anywhere else, with the top three destinations being Britain, Spain and Italy.

“Culturally, students feel more comfortable [in European countries],” Hong said. “The people look similar, the cultures are similar and so there is a comfort level there. We need to focus more on the world that we don’t quite know as well so that we can truly be globalized.”

The trip to South Africa, open selectively for apparel, merchandising, and design, will last 18 days and focus on service learning. Students will work with people in the Limpopo Province, teaching them sewing techniques, basic mending of clothes and help them to create marketable products to provide an income for their families.

For the second half of the trip, AMD students will meet with students majoring in apparel and hospitality at the University of Pretoria. Before the trip, AMD students will meet the Pretoria students via Skype. AMD students will also go on an African safari, as well as touring cultural sites in Pretoria.

“The students will get to learn about [South Africa’s] culture differences and how some things are very similar and some things are very different to what we do,” said Christina Denekas, director of the South Africa trip. “They will have an understanding of why some people do the things the way they do and I hope that they will be humbled.”

The study abroad program in Chile, sponsored by the Department of Human Development and Family Studies, will include visiting social service agencies as well as the Catholic University of Chile. The trip, which spans 14 days, will allow students to analyze Chile’s education and human services systems.

Each trip requires a minimum of nine students, but can only take a maximum of 12 participants. It will cost each student around $4,000 but the price goes down the more students participate.

“You can’t put a price on immersing yourself in another culture,” Denekas said.

Students interested in the trips must fill out an application on the ISUAbroad website. The deadline to apply for the trip has been extended to Jan. 21.  

Funding for the trips is also available. Both programs qualify students for the College of Human Sciences Tuition Award, as well as many other scholarships to help aid in the cost of the trip.

Of the many reasons students have to study abroad, impressing future employers is definitely one that the international programs want students to think about.

“For any employer that students are going to work for, there will be international colleagues or international partners that you’re going to work with,” said Catie Funk, international programs administrative specialist. “On top of having that perspective, just having one trip when you were young lets you learn a world of things you didn’t know before.”

Hong agreed, saying that students need to be prepared to be globally savvy in a world that is constantly changing.

“The world we live in today is a very different world,” Hong said. “The competition today is very global. In any field, if you’re not exposed to this global or national scene, than in some ways you are actually behind.”