For more information about study abroad opportunities, you can visit The Rinker Center located in the Student Center or click here.
With more than 40 countries to choose from, Ball State students have the opportunity to expand their horizons through study abroad.
Students that decide to travel can practice a foreign language, learn about a different culture and even be taught by native professors.
Lisa Kuriscak, a Spanish professor at Ball State, has traveled with students to Spain in eight different summers. She describes the experience as students leaving their fish bowl.
“Before you get out [of the bowl], you don’t realize what another culture is like or really what yours is like," Kuriscak said. "Yes, you learn about another culture but you also learn about yours because you see it from another angle."
Through the programs, students can gain credits toward their major or minor and occasionally fill an internship position abroad.
Travelers can stay in residence halls, hotels, apartments or with a host family depending on the program selected.
Madeline May, a junior telecommunications major, studied this past summer for five weeks during the Olympics in Barcelona and stayed with a host family.
“They were 70-year-old grandparents from Argentina, and I lived with about 15 other girls throughout the semester. ... It was very cool," May said. "If you don't stay with a host family, you don't get immersed. Go out on a limb and stay with a local family."
The programs can last anywhere from four weeks to a year. The cost is dependent on the duration of stay and the price of airfare.
There are many scholarships offered specifically for study abroad students through the school, national scholarships and consortium-based scholarships.
Becky Cooper, a junior business administration major who stayed in Salzburg, Austria the spring semester of her sophomore year, said "don't worry too much about the price tag."
"The Bursar was so helpful for me getting all of my scholarships to transfer. ... You shouldn't let money stand in the way of having one of the best experiences of your life,“ she said.
Kuriscak suggests immersing yourself in the culture of your intended country of travel before going by listening to music, watching television and studying their current events and geography.
Kuriscak highly recommends the travel to all students.
“It’s a life changing experience. It helps push people out of their comfort zone into a growth opportunity. It gives people a way to see beyond their fish bowl," she said. "It’s important to realize we’re not the center of the universe, and how do we realize this? We travel.”
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