Significant numbers of students are now studying in countries once politically off-limits or dangerous, such as Chile, South Africa and China. And at 99,000 plus, the number of students who studied abroad doubled in a decade.
Students can find programs tailor-made to their needs.
Elizeba Ninan knew she wanted to go to India, where she was born, and didn't want to be confined to a classroom. Hampshire's study-abroad office provided the names of several schools with programs in India, and Ninan called the coordinators. After grilling them, she settled on an internship in Pune, on India's west coast, offered by the University of Minnesota. The program's only classroom requirement was to attend seminars on international development and regional Indian studies during the fall quarter at the University of Minnesota. Once in India, Ninan was tutored in Marthi, an Indian language, and worked as a researcher for a women's organization, where she studied the legal status of women in the region.