Living Abroad Linked to an Increase in Creativity


Writers, painters and thinkers from across the globe have long relied on overseas travel to stimulate creativity. Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, and Rudyard Kipling, for instance, all spent significant time living abroad and achieved some of their most important work from outside the borders of their homelands. For these turn-of-the-century artists, living abroad certainly sparked creativity and yielded obvious results. But can today’s wanderer increase creativity simply by living abroad? The answer, surprisingly, is a resounding yes. Continue reading

Study Abroad…for Four Years?

The Times just published a story on Americans jetting off to Scotland for college, showcasing St. Andrews and the University of Edinburgh. What was really surprising, (and pretty entertaining), were the numbers: despite these students trying to be exotic by studying abroad, St. Andrews boasts almost 20% American students. Apparently the trend of getting the well-respected name coupled with significantly cheaper tuition makes American enrollment at these schools enticing. Continue reading

USA Today: Study Abroad Enhances Learning

USA Today recently released an article stating what those in the international education field have known all along: Study abroad significantly adds to students’ learning and overall college experience. Along with community service and internships, the USA Today article particularly praises programs that “immerse students in settings where they can’t help but rethink assumptions and mature as learners.” Continue reading

“Domestic” Study Abroad?

Remember back in the day when study abroad used to be…abroad? In efforts to expose students to the intricacies of the entertainment industry, this article in the LA Times reveals that many schools are now offering study abroad options in the city of angels. Apparently, LA is foreign enough an environment to prompt the phrase “domestic study abroad” (a phrase that must have been created “accidentally on purpose”…the oxymorons can go on and on…). Continue reading

From Hovering Mentors to Intrusive Rescue Squads: A Spectrum of Helicopter Parents

Study abroad is all about independence. When issues arise, from sorting out transfer of credit to dealing with a problematic host family, a phone call needs to be made to a student’s home university or program provider to discuss and address the problem. However, today’s “Millenial” students abroad are not always the ones making these calls. Instead, it is often their increasingly involved, protective parents who are taking the initiative. Continue reading