Correction appended.
While some Ohio University study abroad programs are highly selective, others struggle to attract enough applicants.
The OU Office of Global Opportunities closed many of its study abroad applications on Oct. 15, but deadlines for two spring break trips to Argentina and the U.K. were extended. The only programs that take place in the U.S. with recent deadlines are in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and the Southern part of the U.S.
The selectivity of programs depends on how popular the programs are and how many applicants there are.
Isaiah O'Bryon, a senior studying linguistics and Spanish said he could not go on the 2016 summer study abroad program to Scotland because 10 people were required for the trip, and there were only six applicants.
The Office of Global Opportunities has some basic admission requirements for participation in global programs. Keely Davin, associate director for the Center for International Studies, said participants must have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or above and "good judicial standing" at the start of the program, meaning students may not have violated local laws or the student code of conduct.
Beyond that, faculty directors establish the admission requirements of their programs. Some choose to raise the minimum GPA to 2.5, for example.
The number of applications for any study abroad program may depend on the students it caters to and their academic schedules.
Some of the study abroad programs require specific coursework or GPA as pre-requisites, while other programs have more open application requirements. The application requirements one year may be more competitive than the next solely based on the applicant pool, Davin said.
The overall selectivity of study abroad programs at OU are “very difficult” to generalize, as some programs are more competitive than others, she said.
“I feel like the department of languages has the upper hand with study abroads because to learn a language, you have to study abroad, and the Spanish and French departments are large enough that they can require their students to study abroad in order to graduate,” O’Bryon said. “Whereas linguistics departments, you have people there who love going abroad, but it’s hard to go abroad to study English linguistics because we’re the only ones really studying it (abroad).”
Linguistics majors are not the only students seeking alternative learning environments.
"All of the students I’ve studied abroad with were all like-minded individuals and just eager to learn, eager to ask questions ... So (there's) the education of the students going in a new place, but also the education from other cultures," Katie Meehan, a senior studying global studies and international business, said.
For some students, study abroad experiences help them figure out what they specifically want to do after graduation.
“When I went to Ecuador, I was doing my teaching practicum for teaching English as a foreign language, so that was great because I was like, ‘Yes, I want to teach English, I want to study, I want to do this,’ ” O’Bryon said. “It really refines the areas you want to go for.”
Correction: A previous version of this report misquoted Isaiah O'Bryon. The article has been updated to reflect the most accurate information.
