It’s safe to say that many people would love to travel and stay in other countries. But with school getting in the way, some people may not have the time. What if there was a way to travel and earn more credits towards your degree? That’s exactly the case with Cypress College’s Study Abroad program.
The study abroad program allows students to continue their education in another country. Students get to attend school at the local University in the country offered at the time. Every year the destination is different and recently the program has decided to branch out from Europe. They are provided with housing with other students who are also in the program as well as a faculty lead from Cypress. The students get to embrace and practice the culture of other countries for one semester while also still going to school.
Eldon Young, Dean of Language Arts and Administrator of the study abroad program at Cypress College says that in the program the students get to immerse themselves in the culture of another country and get a different experience that a regular tourist would have. Students live there and partake in the same daily activities as those native to the country- “They gain intimate knowledge of a culture outside of the United States. They become more keenly aware of American culture and its differences from the one that they are living in,” Young stated. Students get to gain an experience that can be life changing- especially for students who have never left the country- lending a significance that not all academic programs can boast about.
The academic requirements for the study abroad program include passing English 100, having a total of 12 units completed, maintaining a C average and going through an interview process. Young said the purpose of the interview stage is to see if the student is the right fit for the program.
This program comes with expenses and though not everyone can afford to go out of their own pockets- but that doesn’t mean they should miss out. “For those students who face financial challenges we do as much as we can to advise them and assist them with scholarships,” stated Young.
Young also mentioned that there are scholarships for students on financial aid called the Gilman Scholarship program, which he has helped numerous students obtain. “We also have some money, not a lot, through our foundation to help students with their financial needs for study abroad,” he said. If a student receives a Gilman Scholarship, it will cover what financial aid can’t, with the maximum amount a student can be awarded towards study abroad being $5,000, according to Young.
Currently, prospective students are signing up for the fall program, with sign ups for the summer program already completed. Summer 2019 students will be going to Barcelona and Fall 2019 they will be going to Kyoto, Japan. Classes start at Fullerton College and then transfer abroad. More information about the Study Abroad program can be found on the Fullerton College website.
