Three CT Colleges Land on List of Best Study Abroad Programs in the Country

In the current climate of higher education, more and more emphasis is being placed on opportunities to study abroad.

Universities and colleges often see study abroad as more than a chance for student to see new far away places. Time spent abroad is seen as a means of exposing an often sheltered student to the world at large.

Students are affordded during this time more than just an opportunity to hang out in France or Japan, but are also given the opportunity to learn through immersion. To observe different cultures firsthand.

A recent study by college informational website College Rank has revealed a list of the top 25 study abroad programs in the country. According to their list, three Connecticut colleges (yes, including that Connecticut College) have made the list.

The list cites Middlebury College, Trinity College and Connecticut College as having programs that rank among the top 25 in the country.

Trinity College in Hartford ranks the highest of the three on the list at no. 4. College Rank cites the Cape Town program as exceptional.

“Trinity College celebrated its 45th anniversary of its study abroad program in Rome in 2015 and the college in Connecticut’s capital offers its students a number of different options for international travel, including summer, semester and year-long study away programs in locations from Barcelona to Buenos Aires, Trinidad & Tobago to Paris, Shanghai to Cape Town,” according to College Rank.

Connecticut College in New London ranks a little higher at no. 17 on the list. More than half the student body study abroad during their time at the college, and College Rank cites the Study Away/Teach Away (SATA) programs as the main draw.

“The SATA programs are offered in South Africa, Vietnam, Italy, Cuba and Peru offer a group of ten to twenty students the unique opportunity to join Connecticut College professors in a joint educational enterprise that is designed to enhance their knowledge and appreciation of political, economic and social systems significantly different from their own,” according to College Rank.

At nearly the edge of the list is Middlebury College in Middlebury at no. 24. Not to be diminished by its higher ranking, however, the college makes the list for its dedication to allowing students to fully immerse themselves in the host language and culture.

“Middlebury has 16 different study abroad programs at sites affiliated with local university, and each varies regarding size and what is studied, but the school is careful only to choose international institutions that remain true to Middlebury’s core values of small classes and individualized attention to students,” according to College Rank.

Looking at the list as a whole, it seems Goucher College in Baltimore has earned the top spot on the list. Colorado College and University of Washington round out the remaining spots in the top three respectively.

Read the full list at College Rank.

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