Jettsetters, rejoice. Gone are the days of picking just one place to anchor a study abroad semester. If you’re looking for meaningful experiences in more than one country and culture, a multi-country study abroad program means you don’t have to settle on a single almost-right-but-not-quite format for your time abroad.
With multi-country study abroad, you get to see firsthand why travel lets you understand yourself and the surrounding world well beyond what any tests or textbooks tell you. The benefits of studying abroad in multiple countries make choosing this type of program a no-brainer for those itching to get out and travel.
You get to decide on the right time frame for your time abroad, the right classes for your academic goals, and the right destinations (in the plural form!) to take your college career from standard transcript to real adventure. There’s no need to limit yourself to one destination when you can choose multi-country study abroad.
Why do multi-country study abroad?
Turn your study abroad experience into a world tour!
Jumping off the traditional one-location study abroad path opens you to a world of possibilities. You can study abroad with friends in one location and travel solo to another. You can focus your studies on building a holistic understanding of one subject area from various perspectives, or you can use the opportunity to try out new academic subjects and languages.
Whether you focus on a few places in one region or broaden your itinerary to touch different regions and continents, multi-country study abroad means amplifying the benefits of studying abroad as you gain insight into a range of cultures and contexts. You’ll get to mold your study abroad experience into something that improves your academic career (and future resume), and you’ll learn about yourself as you learn about the world.
11 benefits of studying abroad in multiple countries
Choosing where to study abroad is one of the biggest decisions you’ll make. Here’s why going for more than one place might just be the best decision:
1. You’ll get to really see more of the world
Immerse in multiple destinations and cultures.
Studying abroad is a great way to start traveling the world. But if you’re constantly booking weekend trips and rushing through big-name sites just to check off destinations on your bucket list, you’re not getting the full picture. That goes for both the places you’re whirlwind visiting and your study abroad home base.
When you study abroad in multiple countries, you give yourself the chance to slow down and immerse yourself in all of the places where you study. A multi-country study abroad program can help you create a balance between feeding your wanderlust and getting the local, authentic insight living in and studying in a place allows.
2. You’ll build a holistic understanding of your major
No matter your major, studying abroad lets you in on new perspectives and ways to understand your interests. Adding more places to your study itinerary means building an even more complex and global view.
Look at literature in Paris and Kyoto, delve into business in Shanghai and Cape Town, compare approaches to sustainability and environmental practices in Copenhagen and Monteverde—you’ll deepen your knowledge when you expose yourself to different viewpoints and methods of tackling common questions.
3. Your language abilities evolve when you learn in different contexts
Learning a language abroad is one of the very best ways to learn a language. Why not take your learning a step further by speaking the local language in different contexts? You’ll heighten your abilities by witnessing the intricacies and idiosyncrasies of one language in multiple places, developing fluency that will serve you well in your future career.
If you’re interested in adding another language (or two) to your repertoire, multi-country study abroad is also a great way to do that. Aspiring polyglots can study multiple languages and gain real-world practice in the markets, cafés, and conversations of different countries.
4. Your cultural understanding evolves, too
You may even pick up more than one language!
Whether you build your multi-country study abroad experience to compare countries in the same region or to immerse yourself in different regions around the world, you’re gaining unparalleled cultural awareness by studying abroad in multiple locations. Intercultural learning goes well beyond the academic knowledge you’ll glean from your classes abroad.
It could mean tasting your way through foodie destinations like Italy and Mexico. It could mean comparing urban life in various cities in Asia or Europe or Latin America by living it. However you envision your program, you’ll get to compare and contrast cultures in a unique and meaningful way.
5. You’ll improve your international network
You can’t overlook the career benefits of multi-country study abroad. Your international network will get a serious boost from all the opportunities you’ll have to interact with folks from different places and cultures. Here’s your chance to make friends with like-minded study abroad participants and international students and learn from professors and professionals across the globe.
6. Your resume will stand out
You’ll also set your resume apart with your unique study abroad experience. More and more, workplaces are looking for people with global experience (and all the problem-solving abilities, cross-cultural communication skills, and ease in collaborating with diverse groups that come with it). Your time spent in multiple places means you’ve honed these abilities even more.
7. Can you say soft skills?
About those resume-enhancing abilities. Employers are looking for soft skills like adaptability and the ability to collaborate, and you’ll build these skills to the max by studying abroad in multiple locations. Traveling to different countries forces you (in the best way) to stay flexible and adaptable, and you’ll have tangible examples about navigating cultural differences and relating to others to talk up in future job interviews.
8. It’s a great way to get abroad more than “once”
Why not use study abroad to check off multiple bucket list destinations?
While studying abroad more than once is a great way to build meaningful travel into college, there are plenty of reasons why it’s not always possible.
Maybe you’re dreaming of a semester in Buenos Aires, and another in Dublin, and another in Singapore, but you can’t miss classes at your home university or take time off from your job for more than one semester. Multi-country study abroad programs allow you to pack all the wanderlust-inspiring, career-propelling benefits of studying abroad in more than one place into a time frame that works for you.
9. There’s always something new ahead
Travel helps you grow. With new people to meet, classes to take, and foods to taste around every corner, you can count on always having something interesting to learn and discover about yourself as well as the places you visit. And if you don’t feel quite at home in one location, you’ll have the chance to move into a new experience soon enough.
10. You can customize study abroad to make it work for you
Most study abroad programs pin you down to a single country and term, but with multi-country study abroad, you can customize your program to meet your needs and goals. You can even find programs that let you decide on the amount of time you spend abroad. Design your study abroad experience how you want it, whether that’s surrounded by Santiago’s neoclassical architecture, Prague’s church spires, Seoul’s traditional temples and towering skyscrapers, or all of the above.
11. You’ll have multiple insights into your future
Get a more accurate “big picture” view of your trajectory.
By taking in and really immersing yourself in all the sights, sounds, and cultural encounters of multiple countries, you’ll get chance after chance to discover your interests and figure out your future. Sure, that happens when you study abroad one time, in one place, but opening yourself to new experiences makes stumbling upon that unexpected path even easier.
You sign up for STEM classes while living alongside the Chicxulub crater. You practice your pronunciation over a Milchkaffee in Berlin. You see a show in Sydney, or London, or Cape Town, and it hits you. You’ll only know where you’ll have that aha! moment when it happens.
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3 multi-country study abroad programs to get you started
When it’s time to tap into the benefits of studying abroad in multiple countries, these programs will have you eager to search for flights and prepare your packing lists:
1. CIEE Open Campus Block Programs
- Why? Building your own program means your study abroad experience is in your hands. You can put together six-, 12-, or 18-week blocks, taking classes across academic tracks and participating in internships, research projects, and service learning. Why choose only one place to study abroad when you can pick three?
- Where? Berlin, Germany; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Cape Town, South Africa; Copenhagen, Denmark; Dublin, Ireland; Kyoto, Japan; London, UK; Madrid, Spain; Milan, Italy; Monteverde, Costa Rica; Paris, France; Prague, Czech Republic; Rome, Italy; Santiago, Chile; Seoul, South Korea; Shanghai, China; Singapore; Sydney, Australia; Yucatan, Mexico
- Read CIEE reviews
2. IES Abroad European Union
- Why? If you’re interested in politics, business, economics, and international relations as they relate to the European Union, this program gives you a firsthand glimpse into the EU’s historical and institutional development. You’ll travel for more than 20 days, seeing policy and culture in action, but you’ll still get the traditional semester-abroad experience from your home base in Freiburg.
- Where? Freiburg, Germany plus multiple countries in Europe
- Read IES Abroad reviews
3. AIFS Study Abroad: European Cinema (Summer)
- Why? Can’t get away for a full semester abroad? Multi-country study abroad is worth it in the summer, too! Earn three semester credits while studying European cinema in iconic European cities. You’ll get to learn about the development of film and dive into filmmaking approaches—and the settings that inspired them—through classes, walking tours, and site visits.
- Where? London, UK; Paris, France; Rome, Italy
- Read American Institute for Foreign Study (AIFS) reviews
Can’t pick? Compare these programs side-by-side with MyGoAbroad
Can’t make up your mind about where to study abroad? You don’t have to!
You’ll be a seasoned globetrotter after your multi-country study abroad program!
Whether you’re in it for the travel cred or the academic credits, the cultural and language immersion or the career boost, you’re in for the ultimate adventure with a multi-country study abroad program. It’s not hard to find the perfect study abroad program for your unique interests and goals—it’s time to see the benefits of multi-country study abroad for yourself.
Explore ALL Multi-Country Study Abroad Programs on GoAbroad.com
This article was written with help from CIEE. CIEE has been a prominent leader in the field of international education for over 75 years. Their study abroad programs span multiple continents in places like Germany, South Africa, Korea, and more.
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