Over 1,600 University of Minnesota students studied abroad last year, gaining a better understanding of the world and themselves. 

Last academic year, 70% of students who studied abroad went to Europe, 18% went to Asia and Oceania and the remaining 13% went to the Americas, Africa and the Middle East. With in-depth guidance from the University’s Learning Abroad Center, students can find their way overseas to experience higher education in new and exciting environments across the world. 

The Learning Abroad Center has a variety of classes and resources for students to utilize and help take care of the many aspects of going to school overseas. The University’s Global Programs and Strategy Alliance connects students and staff worldwide to provide students with immersive learning experiences. 

Out of all the University-offered programs, the Carlson School of Management and the College of Liberal Arts had the most students studying abroad last year, according to the LAC’s 2023-2024 report. 

Students like Theodore Tchomakhidze, a fourth-year student studying finance and accounting, studied abroad in spring 2024 through the Carlson Global Institute, which exposed him to new cultural experiences in Lyon, France. 

“It was a great cultural experience, how freeing and open to new experiences everyone was,” Tchomakhidze said. “It was a big dose of extroverted exploration.” 

Each country offers new perspectives and cultures for students to appreciate and explore. 

During his time in France, Tchomakhidze said a local university provided a program specifically for students studying there internationally. The program provided a mandatory class dedicated to teaching students about French culture to better help them understand the people and environment they were studying in. 

“We had a class one day where they were talking about French food culture,” Tchomakhidze said. “If you’re invited to dinner, what do you do? What kind of wines are good? How do French eat their meals? It was really fun to experience that in a new country.” 

Ryan Voelker, a third-year student studying biomedical engineering who went abroad to Spain in spring 2024, had the opportunity to live with a host family while abroad and immerse himself in an at-home cultural experience. 

Voelker said living with a host family helped him get to know Spanish culture better. 

“I was able to live with a family, which I enjoyed a lot,” Voelker said. “I felt like it helped me experience the culture a lot more.” 

But differences in culture impacted Voelker. He said people in Spain tend to take more time for themselves and enjoy free time more than is common in the U.S. 

“What I found out for myself, and what I heard from a professor who has lived in a bunch of different places, is that Spaniards have an attitude of you work to live rather than you live to work,” Voelker said. “It was really nice to have that, because I feel like here it’s usually pretty busy, especially at a university, you always have school, so that plays into the difference in the school systems too.” 

Aside from new cultural experiences, studying abroad can also open the door to research and internship opportunities. 

Daniel Gatz, a third-year student studying psychology who went abroad in spring of 2024, said the program he was part of offered internships to students studying along with him in Madrid, Spain. 

“You could get credit for the internship or you could get paid for it,” Gatz said. “There’s a lot of different opportunities, a lot of them were on-site programs in Madrid.” 

Last year, more students started planning to go abroad than students who actually ended up overseas. 2,408 students started their first steps to studying abroad, the LAC Annual Report from last year reported. 

Tchomakhidze said the experience is worth any trouble and to go abroad as soon as students can. 

“Do it, and say yes to everything,” Tchomakhidze said. “You will not regret going, everyone has some mishaps, but it’s worth the experience… Don’t be scared.”