Academics: Beyond the Classroom: Study Abroad

Duke strongly encourages students to study abroad, because direct experience of another culture is an important way to improve communication across barriers of custom, language, geography, and politics. Typically, more than 40 percent of the students in each class choose to participate in a study abroad program for credit. Duke offers many different types of study abroad programs in nearly every part of the globe.

Four types of Study Abroad programs are available:

• Duke-administered programs are arranged and run by Duke, with close faculty supervision of courses and teaching. Duke currently sponsors academic year or semester programs in China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Scotland, Spain, Turkey, and South Africa.
• Duke-administered summer programs are available in Australia, Britain, China, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Brazil and Turkey.
• Duke-approved and direct enrollment programs are sponsored by other American universities or foreign universities. Currently, more than 120 programs are approved for Duke student participation in almost every country in the world.
• Duke also allows students to present their own individual Study Abroad plans for approval.

You can read firsthand accounts of Duke students' and faculty members' study abroad experiences, and you can hear what students said during the fall 2006 study abroad fair. More information is available from the Office of Study Abroad.