Ashland University opens the door to students to explore new cultures and add value to their resumes with a study abroad program.

The Global Education Office puts together different educational trips around the U.S and the world, where students not only learn about different cultures but they are also able to earn credits and gain valuable knowledge about their field. 

“We have a variety of different programs, students of any major can go abroad, no matter how tight their 4 year plan is,” said Rebecca Parillo, director of Global Education.

For those students who want to have a full immersion experience as well as improve their language skills, AU in Costa Rica and AU in France are the perfect fit. 

As part of AU in Costa Rica, students who take BIO 202 in the spring will do their lab work in Costa Rica.

COBE in Taiwan is a 9 credit hour summer program for business majors and minors. Students will learn Chinese as well as visit Taiwanese companies.

For faculty led programs this year, there is the Navajo Immersion in Arizona and Cuisine and Culture in Italy.

AU in Germany is one of the most popular annual programs. The program allows students to take two summer core courses taught by AU faculty and spend three weeks in Wittenberg, Germany.

Hannah Thome is a senior at AU, majoring in art education with a minor in history. She had the opportunity to participate in AU in Germany this past summer. 

Thome was able to see with her own eyes famous pieces of art that she had only seen in the classroom.

“Experiencing art in person that I have only seen previously in textbooks was indescribable,” said Thome. 

Other programs also include student teaching abroad, which allow students majoring in education to complete part of their student teaching requirement abroad.

The educational programs that students can go on are not only limited to the ones that AU organizes. The Global Education Office can assist students to find other programs. 

An example of this is Rylee Scott. Scott studied abroad at the Paris Fashion Institute. This program was the perfect fit for Scott since she is a fashion merchandising major.

“The best part of the whole experience is getting to meet so many new people, hearing their stories and where they come from, and working/ learning with fashion professionals who are prominent people within the fashion industry,” said Scott.

The Global Education Office is also going to help and inform students about the many ways that they can afford study abroad. There are easy ways of payment as well as scholarships and grants.

Parillo encourages students to stop by the Global Education Office and meet with her to look over all the programs that will fit with a student’s major as well as how to finance it.