Dartmouth, Stanford are tops abroad

When study abroad advisors talk about the best in their field, two names appear over and over again -- Stanford University and Dartmouth College. Between 65 and 70 percent of Dartmouth students study abroad, while 55 percent of Stanford undergraduates participate in overseas programs. Many of the programs available at these institutions are similar to those at the University, but officials said the culture of Stanford and Dartmouth encourage international study. Officials at the two schools emphasize that their institutions have made it a priority to encourage study abroad programs. Students consider it an assumption, not an exception, that their classmates study elsewhere. The quarter system, which both Stanford and Dartmouth use, makes travel abroad easier for students with many other obligations. Dartmouth has four ten-week terms, including the summer quarter, and students are required to spend the summer following their sophomore year on Dartmouth's campus. This unique schedule allows students to spend a term abroad without missing coursework. Assistant Dean of the Faculty Peter Armstrong, who supervises the Off-campus Programs Office at Dartmouth, said yesterday that because each program is sponsored by a Dartmouth department, study abroad is integrated with the curriculum. Most of the programs serve between 12 and 25 students. The programs are not open to non-Dartmouth students Study abroad is a good way to complete Dartmouth's language requirement, Armstrong said. Most students take two terms of a language at Dartmouth and take the third term abroad. He said approximately 100 Dartmouth students each year choose to go on non-Dartmouth programs. The international "culture" at Dartmouth begins even before students are admitted. Promotional material details the extensive program and is a big selling point for students considering several Ivy League schools, Armstrong said. Stanford has a similar history of encouraging travel abroad. When students reach the main phone number for Stanford's study abroad office, the first thing they hear is a voice mail message directing them to press one, two and three for destinations such as Germany, Poland and Japan. Many of Stanford's programs are set up to be mini-Stanford campuses in other locations. Stanford programs in Berlin and Kyoto also have internships tied to the academic program which encourage students to try their language skills. Pat Sekaquaptewa, a student services assistant in Stanford's study abroad office, said the programs are easy to participate in because grades and credit transfer. Students can fulfill distributional requirements in study abroad programs. Faculty members are active in reviewing the existing programs and there is always at least one faculty member in residence at each site, Sekaquaptewa said. The faculty therefore have faith in the quality of classes that the students take abroad and are more supportive, Sekaquaptewa said. The heavy faculty involvement is especially important for more technically-oriented fields like engineering. Faculty members must be certain that students are getting all the material in any class they take abroad, Sekaquaptewa said, or they will not be supportive of the students. Finally, the similarity between the Stanford experience and its study abroad program helps in the transition, making it "not as threatening" to go to another country, Sekaquaptewa said. The one main disadvantage of the mini-Stanford atmosphere created in foreign countries is that students are not as integrated into the foreign universities with which they are affiliated, Sekaquaptewa added.

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