Fall Study Abroad Programs in United States

Oaxaca clarified my ambitions for the future, made me reflect on my interpersonal relationships because of the depth of kindness that I found in complete strangers, introduced me to lifelong friends and some of the funniest and most dedicated people I've ever met, taught me about what community efforts can humbly accomplish, and brought back a piece of myself that was lost in a lot of rush and struggle that this new pace of life and focus on more pressing issues washed out. The SIT program coordinators and the excursions we took were highlights of the program.

If you are even considering Oaxaca and it falls in your area of interests (or not specifically, but does grab your attention)I would highly recommend! One of the first things you are told is to be open with each other because you will build life long connections, which couldn't be more true. You will experience a great deal of culture and heavy topics that will bond you closer with each other as you all learn how to navigate being abroad, being immersed in immigration, local indigenous communities, and transnational communities in excursions. Outside of classes, you'll have amazing meals with your families and families of you friends, which adds so much to the experience as you meet their families and they let you into their culture. While the topic of immigration is very heavy and a difficult topic to prepare someone who has never witnessed the situations of the borders, the teachers and speakers do a great job of preparing us for what we are going to see and how we may feel. Most importantly, you are not alone in any of the experience while in Oaxaca.

This trip was very educational about animal welfare and conervation. It was also fun getting to know my peers and staff. I enjoyed getting to come up with enrichment to better help the animals at the sanctuary!

Our leader went above and beyond to make sure every meal was sorted and evenings were very fun and made for great bonding. I'd love to apply for staff in the future! 10/10 for everything - I loved the tours, edissection, practicing blood smears, and making enrichment

Overall, I enjoyed the program. There were various opportunities to interact with locals and practice Spanish outside of a classroom setting. The various excursions are the best aspect of the program as they were well organized, in various locations, and offer insight into the topic of immigration, local indigenous communities, and transnational communities. The host program offered engaging classes and the staff were very kind and accessible. The host family living arrangements were safe and comfortable. Overall, it was an enjoyable experience that gave me the opportunity to learn more about a topic that interests me. I would recommend it!

My journey at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) was short but transformative. During my time at UCI, the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated remote learning, providing me with the opportunity to meet students from around the world who couldn't attend the program in person due to travel restrictions. As a current resident of Irvine, I had many opportunities to visit the campus and meet many staff members and instructors in person. The academic environment at UCI is supportive. The instructors are not only experts in their fields but also approachable and willing to help students. As an MBA (marketing major), the Accelerated Certificate Program in Digital marketing and Communications and International Business and Operations Management helped me advance my knowledge in marketing. While my overall experience was positive, the curriculum was a combination of theory and practical experiences in the form of case studies. There are many clubs and student support groups on campus that you can be part of while residence. It was a well-rounded experience.

America and my country is a literally different country and each country has different culture and life style. I learned a lot of differentiation between America and Korea. In addition, I could feel my perspective of understanding differentiation is grown up. What a nice experience!

Great study environment and living area for those studying abroad or living alone for the first time. Instructors are friendly and share many of their experiences with us. Additionally, you gain different insights from both your instructors and classmates.

University of California, Irvine responded to this reviewMay 16, 2024

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience, Yi Hsuan. We are thrilled that you enjoyed your time with us and are always here to welcome you back!

Like Zach, I was initially signed up to go to Mongolia with Round River and only ended up going to the Sky Islands because of Covid. I won't lie, I was apprehensive at first about living in Arizona in the summer and a little disappointed to be studying "abroad" in the US instead of Mongolia. Luckily, it turned out to be one of the most special summers of my life and I'm so glad I chose to go! The image I had in my head of Arizona was a SpongeBobesque wasteland; instead, it was an incredibly beautiful and diverse patchwork of mountains, valleys, and streams. Each Sky Island mountain range that we worked in was covered in Ponderosa forest and the desert valleys in between were like nothing I'd ever seen before. We also got to see everything turn green over the course of the monsoon season from July to August. For academics, we had some readings and homework to do, but most of the work was field-based. We mostly worked with Round River's community partner Sky Island Alliance- the biggest projects were monitoring springs in the mountains, doing riverbank restoration in a canyon, and helping with the US-Mexico border wildlife survey. The border, and its implications for wildlife (and people), is a huge factor in conservation in the Southwest. We talk about socio-ecological systems in my classes at UVM all the time, but there is nothing like actually experiencing and working in that landscape to help you understand the problems faced in this field. It was really cool to get to work with Round River's community partners and know that the research you are doing is solicited by the people who live and work there. A nice part about the Sky Island program specifically is that you get to make connections with people in the conservation world in the US! (I was even able to go back to Arizona this summer to do research with one of the people I met through being on Round River a year before!).

Studying abroad was an experience full of uncertainties and firsts for me as someone who hadn't previously had the privilege of traveling internationally and intentionally. I could not have picked a better and more fitting program for me than the SIT IHP Health and Community program that ran course in India, South Africa, and Jordan during the Spring of 2022. The supports we had available to us students were well-thought out and ready for use. When issues came up, we were able to discuss them either with ourselves or our staff. Having homestays in India and Jordan allowed me to have deeper connections with the community and cultures that we were engaging with, which I still foster today. Our group culture was to strive for our best in our assignments, learning, discussions, and immersive experiences outside of the traditional classroom since the world is the true classroom. Every day of the program provided another lesson, another moment of growth, and another moment of connection with people who are gracious enough to provide us with their knowledge and care. My life has not been the same since study abroad and I am beyond grateful for the challenging and wonderful experience I had with people who are passionate about enhancing their worldview through meaningful action and community-building.

After getting accepted into the Round River program going to Mongolia, and having it get cancelled twice, I did not know what to think about heading down to Arizona. That being said, I went in knowing that I was going to enjoy it, and it definitely did not dissapoint. I absolutely loved everything about the program. The food that we made never dissapointed, every one of the students on the program quickly became some of the best friends that I have ever had, and we got to sleep out under thousands of stars every night. Even the weather down in Arizona was very nice. When I first decided to go on this program, weather was definitely one of my big concerns. Once we got down there, the weather was a lot better than I was expecting, and I got to experience monsoons for the first time, which was a very exciting experience. With everything considered, I cannot think of anything about the program that I would change, and the six weeks that I spent down in Arizona was without a doubt the best six weeks of my life.

Round River is a unique program because it focuses on real-world conservation work and place-based learning. I hadn't taken any biology before this program, and I learned SO much. Every day I knew more about the desert/mountain ecosystem around me and felt more connected to its complexity and beauty. We partnered with a local conservation organization which was amazing because we were doing relevant conservation work on the border. We also thought a lot about the current immigration humanitarian crisis in the region. This was important to me because it tied together human and environmental issues. My group of 6 student and 2 instructors had a blast backpacking to research springs, and car camping to do vegetation surveys. All around this was an incredible experience and couldn't recommend it more!

I really enjoyed attending the virtual Anatomy, Behavior and Conservation of African Big Cats course lead by Dr. Peter DiGeronimo (What a great last name!). I appreciated the extra information and articles, which allowed me to dig deeper into the material instead of taking notes from the lectures. I have never learned so much about a species in 8 weeks, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I like the self-paced aspect which allowed me to learn instead of cram. Overall, I enjoyed this course and can't wait to learn more with LoopAbroad!

I thoroughly enjoyed attending the Elephant Management and Medicine course lead by Dr. Erica Ward. I learned so much about the whole elephant and Thai culture. I enjoyed the addition of culture and history to the course instead of a pure science course just learning about the body. Dr. Erica Ward was very accommodating, quick at responding to emails, and always kept checking in on how we were doing with the course. I also enjoyed the addition of other voices, such as elephation, and Dr. Heather Anholt. Overall, I had a wonderful experience, and hopefully I can attend a loopabroad course in person next time!

I really enjoyed this course and could have not asked for a better one! My current college does not teach courses that are focused on just one animal so I was looking for some alternatives I could take. I learned so much from this course and really enjoyed how most of it was able to be done on my own time. Making this easier when you have a crazy busy schedule. I think the time frame and material we learned was just perfect! The instructor was great and always answered questions. I enjoyed the guest lectures and all the informative assignments. I have even more compassion for elephants because of this course.

I really enjoyed both my courses I have taken with Loop Abroad over the summer. I did enjoy how I could work on my own time, making it so much easier since I have a bit of a busy schedule with everything I am doing to get ready for Vet School. Although I have a Bachelors Degree in Zoology, there was a lot of topics I did not know much about. I was just hired on as a Vet Assistant at the same time as I started the course which really helped me excel at work. The course was set up very efficiently and all the assignments felt to be informative and not just busy work. I truly enjoyed this course and would recommend taking it.

This course was very informative and interesting. I took it to gain some pre-professional hours for college and got a lot out of it. The lectures were put out to do at your own pace and discussions were free to post on daily. I learned so much about these big cats and how they are similar and different when compared to the domestic cats we have in our homes. The course had modules that covered big cat anesthesia, sedation, reproduction, nutrition, and many other interesting, important topics. If you're looking into zoo veterinary medicine, or simply just want to learn more about these big cats I'd recommend this course.

This course provided a lot of insights into the small domestic animal practice of veterinary medicine. I am been a veterinary technician for two years now and while taking this course I learned so many new techniques when dealing with dogs and cats. The modules were put out weekly and had dissuasions about questions relating to the lectures. The lectures were led very well and the instructor was always very helpful. This course has helped me better understand the instruments, techniques, and terminology that goes into veterinary medicine. Highly recommended for current or upcoming veterinary technicians or veterinarians in small animal domestic practice.

I became interested in urban studies my sophomore year, and wanted a change to explore the discipline in a transnational context, as my college didn't offer similar classes. I lived in Europe as a child and felt that it was likely I could visit some more traditional study abroad locations (England, France, Spain, Ireland, Australia) on my own.

This was an absolutlely rewarding academic and personal experience, because I learned more about myself and my place in the world than I could have in a classroom back home. I was constantly challenged by my professors and classmates to really look critically at our environments and cultural experiences. I was encouraged to find and pursue an independent project on a subject that truly interested me, and I found ample support from faculty and classmates alike. This program has better informed me of the kinds of professional experiences I want to engage in, and it certainly helps that doing IHP has now plugged me in to a huge network of professionals and opportunities. After doing IHP Cities, I'm excited for what's ahead!