Washington State University’s study abroad program is an opportunity that hundreds of Cougs participate in every year. WSU offers students many options when it comes to the programs they can study while abroad and the countries they can travel to. Studying abroad is a great way for students to see different cultures and to get a quality education while doing it. Many students claim that studying abroad is even one of their favorite experiences while studying at WSU.

“Once I get back, taking the skills I learned abroad, I’m going to be able to interact with people from all over the world in a better way,” said junior Cooper Fry. Fry is double-majoring in accounting and finance and is studying abroad in Barcelona, Spain during the spring semester.

Studying abroad is also a great way to explore the world, meet new friends, and have the experience of a lifetime.

“I definitely think having an international experience benefits anyone,” said Maggie Eliasen, a junior studying international business and finance. “I think it will really help my international business degree by being abroad and seeing how the market works over there.”

Psychology junior, Kate Nantz, who will study abroad in Florence, Italy in the spring, has been planning on studying abroad for about a year and said that the application process has taken that long.

“It was a long process,” Nantz said. “I started looking into studying abroad at the beginning of my sophomore year and had to tell my advisor as soon as I knew, so he could schedule my WSU classes around that plan.”

Over two hundred WSU students attended a recent meeting for those planning to study abroad in the coming months. Global learning advisor Lisa Armstrong provided the audience with pertinent information and tips before the crowd split up into groups based on country.

“You are a visitor in their land,” Armstrong said. “Don’t expect them to conform to your standards.”

To illustrate this point, Armstrong showed students two separate images that depicted commonly-held stereotypes about various countries, and various states in America.

A semester abroad can facilitate a shift in a student’s perspective. In an effort to ensure the student received the most out of their experience, Armstrong, who has studied abroad multiple times, facilitates a course for returnees.

One returnee, senior communication major Jody Barhanovich, found the study abroad experience in Italy to be one that expanded her worldview.

“Now I have a sense of what the world is about,” Barhanovich said. “There is so much more than Pullman, and the United States in general.”

Studying abroad gives students the opportunity to gain new perspectives that they have never had before in areas like culture, language skills, education, and a willingness to learn. The study abroad program at WSU specifically offers thousands of dollars in scholarships to students trying to go abroad. WSU tries to provide multiple options for every student who wants to go abroad and have a once in a lifetime experience.