A report from the Institute for International Education recently ranked IU-Bloomington seventh among United States universities sending students abroad.
During the 2015-16 school year, 2,720 IU students traveled abroad, a 26 percent increase from 2012-13.
"IU-Bloomington's seventh-place national ranking is directly due to the deep commitment of all IU schools and departments to internationalize their students," said Kathleen Sideli, associate vice president for overseas study, in a release.
The top-three study abroad locations included Spain, the United Kingdom and Italy, with the biggest number of participants coming from the College of Arts and Sciences and the Kelley School of Business.
"For several years now, IU has pursued a strategic goal of maximizing the number of students who study abroad," said David Zaret, vice president for international affairs, in the release.
There are many benefits to studying abroad, according the release. Students who participate in programs abroad are more likely to graduate on time and have higher GPAs.
When they graduate, those who participated in these trips are more likely to earn higher starting pay than an average college student.
"No matter what their major, IU students can find a program to meet their needs — be it a short-term experience embedded in a campus-based course, a semester abroad immersed in another language or a summer internship at an NGO," Sideli said in the release.
Sarah Verschoor
