Of the 6,700 undergraduates studying at Harvard at any given time, less than 300 study abroad term-time. When compared to other universities like Syracuse, where a third of the student body takes time off to study abroad during the school year, this is a surprisingly low number.
Across the United States, the popularity and credibility of studying abroad has been keeping pace with the increasing connectivity of our world. But the practice is far from universally popular. At Harvard, the benefits of studying abroad seem to be overshadowed by doubts. Is “cultural immersion” truly a valuable concept, even if it entails socializing more and studying less? More specifically, is it worth sacrificing one of eight semesters at Harvard to discover this? For Harvard students plagued by the fear of missing out on the many opportunities offered on campus, deciding to go abroad during the school year requires reevaluating assumptions about what the Harvard experience should entail.
By the Numbers
Over all, about 60 percent of students will partake in an international experience of some kind during their time at Harvard. However, going abroad over the summer is an overwhelmingly more popular option than going abroad during the school year: over 400 students participate in Harvard Summer School Abroad programs every year, and almost 1,000 students receive funding for an eight-week or longer international experience every summer. These programs enjoy such popularity in spite of the fact that they can be more of a financial burden than those that take place during the school year, which can be fully covered by a student’s financial aid. The large number of Harvard students who participate in international summer programs suggests that they may not be opposed to the idea of spending time abroad, but rather to the idea of leaving Harvard.
It is important to note that the number of students who do go abroad has risen substantially over the last two decades. This increase was spurred largely by initiatives begun under President Lawrence Summers about fifteen years ago, which reversed existing policies against the transfer of credits that had made it difficult for students who went abroad to graduate on time. President Summers also established the College’s policy of providing funding for programs that run for eight weeks or longer, which he believed to represent the minimum time required for a significant international experience. Erin Goodman, Associate Director of Programs at the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (DRCLAS), described this shift as “breaking down a lot of the bureaucracy that had discouraged students from going abroad.” Since then, Harvard has been struggling to catch up to other schools that have a longer history of encouraging study abroad programs. Nevertheless, it has made some noteworthy steps towards supporting study abroad; for example, Harvard is one of the only schools to include a defer option on its physical placards, which may contribute to a higher than average rate of gap years and serves as a clear mark of the university supporting travel as an important form of learning.
Structural Obstacles
When trying to determine why Harvard students are so reluctant to leave campus for an international experience, it is easy to point a finger at the study abroad programs themselves. Harvard does not directly run any term-time programs abroad, although some regional offices, like DRCLAS, do offer their own. For the most part, students are expected to apply to external programs on their own. This stands in contrast to the way study abroad is run at schools like Syracuse, whose students travel to programs where they can take Syracuse classes taught by Syracuse faculty and do not have to worry about their credits transferring over when they return.
However, Camila Nardozzi, the associate director of the Office for International Education (OIE), argues that Harvard students nevertheless “enjoy a streamlined and simple process” when preparing to go abroad. Walk-in hours are available at both the OIE and the Office of Career Services (OCS), and studying abroad is designed to be suitable for any concentration. In fact, Ted Gilman, executive director of the Resichauer Institute of Japanese Studies, points out that, “about 40% of students who go to Japan through our programs are science, math, or engineering concentrators.” Students who have gone abroad generally agree that the process was accessible, but it does necessitate dealing with a bureaucracy that can take some time and planning to manage. For example, when transferring credits, students must apply for approval of the courses they plan to take before their departure and must then wait for their grades to be processed and listed on their Harvard transcript when they return. This can potentially cause issues for students who wish to apply to internships before this processing is complete, since some programs require that you officially be a second-semester junior in order to participate.
Fear of Missing Out
The popularity of summer study abroad programs belies the claim that Harvard’s management of study abroad is entirely to blame for the unpopularity of going abroad during the school year. Instead, Nardozzi explains that there is a pervasive “fear of missing out” that can discourage many students from even considering study abroad as a viable option in the first place. Students may want to take a class with a certain professor, attend all four Harvard-Yale games, and spend a full eight semesters with their close friends. Students who are heavily involved in extra-curricular activities, especially when they hold or aspire to hold leadership positions, may be loathe to give up on something in which they have already invested so much time and energy.
Ensuring that study abroad does not stand in the way of the Harvard experience can take some planning, but many students have found ways to strike a balance. For example, Sara Melissa Theiss, ’15, a Psychology concentrator who studied in Spain her junior fall, had already completed a year as co-director of Habitat for Humanity and was able to retain her post after the group put the decision to a vote. On the other hand, Sarah Keltz, ’16, who also spent her junior fall in Spain, dabbled in many different activities before traveling and took her time abroad as an opportunity to reassess her extra curricular commitments.
Harvard is exceptional in many respects; it is consistently ranked as one of the best universities worldwide and boasts an incredibly talented and accomplished faculty from all over the world. Ned Strong, executive director of DRCLAS, describes Harvard as “one of the most international universities in the world” citing the fact that it offers more than sixty languages, employs faculty from a wide variety of countries, has educated the presidents of over fifty countries, and frequently hosts international world leaders on its campus. Harvard students themselves face constant reminders of how lucky they are to attend such a prestigious university. But does Harvard’s international reputation leave its students with no justifiable reason to spend one of their eight semesters somewhere other than these gilded halls?
Is it Really Worth It?
Many students who have spent a semester in a foreign country report that the experience has enhanced their remaining time at Harvard by giving them a much-needed dose of perspective. As Sarah Keltz explained, “I saw going abroad as a welcome chance to distance myself from Harvard and rethink what activities I want to spend my time doing.” For Sarah, her time in Spain was spent on school, travel, and a low-commitment volunteer opportunity that allowed her the time for seeing friends, exercising, and reading that she did not have time for with her busy schedule at Harvard. She reflected that the experience of having leisure time, “made me that much more excited to go back to Harvard, because I know that for these next three semesters I’m going to do it right—have more fun and be happier.”
The biggest hurdle to expanding the number of students who do go abroad seems to be misguided preconceptions about what this entails. Many students who choose to go abroad do so after hearing from someone who has already had a positive experience. The resultant fact that most people who go abroad already know someone else who has done so has resulted in a relatively tight-knit community. In order for this community to open up and grow, it needs to become a more accessible and obvious presence on campus. The OIE works hard to spread awareness about international opportunities and already has plans for a T-shirt campaign, during which students who have studied abroad wear a shirt proclaiming, “I studied abroad, ask me about it.” However, Harvard itself could still do more to spread an accurate and positive conception of term-time study abroad; for example, it could provide more structured and proactive advising that informs students of the option to study abroad, instead of requiring that they seek it out for themselves.
As it stands, the high-pressure, career-minded atmosphere that pervades Harvard’s campus can discourage many students from going abroad in the first place. However, the dose of nonconformist attitude required to study abroad makes the experience all the more important for those who do go. By leaving campus in spite of the many reasons not to, students take an important step in defining their college experiences for themselves. The distance and perspective afforded by spending a semester abroad can allow students to realize that their peers’ overbooked schedules and conceptions about what it means to be successful do not need to inform their own experience at Harvard.
Image Credit: Joe Choe
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