As the academic school year comes to an end, many students will continue their studies by packing a suitcase and heading overseas. A record-high 3,000 UW students will study abroad this school year. UW leaders say these programs promise profound experiences and lifelong memories, and new research shows that college students who study abroad are more likely to graduate.
“Studying abroad increases success for everyone,” said Dr. Gayle Christensen, interim vice provost, Office of Global Affairs, and a coauthor on a paper that evaluated graduation rates of students who study abroad. “But it increases the success for underrepresented students and underserved students even more.”
The study, published last year in the Journal of College Student Development by Tory Brundage, Doctoral Candidate in the College of Education and Dr. Gayle Christensen, found that students on college and university campuses who study abroad complete their degrees at higher rates, particularly among historically underserved students — defined as students who identify as Black, Latinx, Native American or Pacific Islander.
Learn more about how study abroad at the UW is a high-impact practice.