Goucher Ranks in Top 10 for Study Abroad

December 18, 2009 |

Goucher’s continued dedication to the importance of global education earned the college recognition in the Institute of International Education’s (IIE) Open Doors report released this month. Goucher was named among the country’s top 10 baccalaureate institutions—and the No. 1 school in Maryland—in undergraduate participation in study-abroad programs, with 90 percent of students learning overseas.

IIE’s Open Doors 2009 report used data from the 2007-08 academic year, a year after Goucher became the first college in the nation to require all of its undergraduates to study abroad. Following the mandate, every student is required to study abroad at least once before graduation. In fact, nearly 20 percent of Goucher students choose to study abroad more than once during their college careers. 

While large universities dominate in terms of absolute numbers of their students going abroad, many smaller institutions send a higher proportion of their students to learn internationally. The Open Doors report’s participation rates show that only 17 institutions reported sending more than 85 percent of their students abroad at some point during their undergraduate careers. These institutions are, in alphabetical order: Antioch College, Arcadia University, Austin College, Carleton College, Centre College, DePauw University, Elon University, Goucher College, Hamline University, Hartwick College, Kalamazoo College, Lee University, Oberlin College, Pepperdine University, Saint Olaf College, University of Dallas, and Wofford College.

To view the Open Doors’ rankings of institutions by undergraduate participation for doctoral, master’s, and baccalaureate institutions please go to http://opendoors.iienetwork.org/?p=150841.

At Goucher, study abroad has been a longstanding tradition. The college took an important step in its support of international study by establishing a study-abroad requirement for all undergraduates students entering as of the 2006-2007 academic year. Goucher’s international requirement is part of a liberal education curriculum that the college launched in the fall of 2006; this curriculum is a statement of what the college believes every student should know by the time he or she graduates.

As times change, Goucher’s faculty and administrators believe that international awareness is a requirement for anybody who wants to lead a satisfying and successful life in today’s global community and that study-abroad experiences are integral to a complete liberal arts education.