For the ninth consecutive year, the Institute of International Education has ranked Arcadia University first in the U.S. in study abroad participation. Arcadia earned the recognition in IIE’s Open Doors report, released on Nov. 13, based on the percentage of undergraduate students participating in a study abroad experience at a master’s level college or university, as determined by IIE, with support from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Arcadia University has been a leader in international education for more than 70 years, since then Beaver College first began sending students to study in post-war Europe. Approximately 75 percent of Arcadia undergraduates study abroad.

Arcadia offers unique short-term international experiences– 62 percent of students have participated in programs such as Preview, which takes first-year and new transfer students each year to more than a dozen international destinations as a part of their coursework; Global Field Study courses, which combine a semester of intense study on campus with a study abroad component; and graduate international academic experiences, including the MBA program’s international business experience, or health sciences clinical rotations. Additionally, 38 percent of students have participated in a summer, semester, or full year study abroad program. The University has academic programs and centers for undergraduate study in 15 countries around the world.

“Study abroad and international experiences are hallmarks of an Arcadia education,” said Dr. Ajay Nair, president of Arcadia. “Many of our students engage with local communities around the world, adding yet another component to a rich and rewarding experience. We hope that being #1 in study abroad participation is more than a metric, and that it also represents a student body that is preparing for lives of informed contribution, service, vision, creativity and innovation.”

The Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange is published by the Institute of International Education, the leading not-for-profit educational and cultural exchange organization in the United States. IIE has conducted an annual statistical survey of campuses regarding the international students in the United States since 1919, with support from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs since the early 1970s. Open Doors is a comprehensive information resource on international students and scholars studying or teaching at higher education institutions in the United States, and U.S. students studying abroad for academic credit at their home colleges or universities.

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