For the seventh consecutive year, Arcadia University is ranked first in the U.S. in study abroad participation, according to the Institute of International Education’s Open Doors report that was released yesterday. Arcadia earned the recognition based on the percentage of undergraduate students participating in a study abroad experience at a master’s level college or university, as determined by the Institute of International Education (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 nearly 70 years, since then-Beaver College first began sending students to study in post-war Europe. That legacy continues to be part of the Arcadia ethos. Approximately 74 percent of Arcadia undergraduates study abroad.

“Even before students arrive at Arcadia, we stress to them the importance of developing a global perspective, which is one of the hallmarks of an Arcadia University education,” said Dr. Nicolette DeVille Christensen, president of Arcadia University. “We encourage students to step out from their familiar environments and home institutions and move toward alternative environments where they encounter new assumptions, beliefs, and behaviors. This is ideally achieved by helping students to study in more diverse locations, but for those students who can’t study abroad, we also create an ethos of internationalization at home. What we learn abroad informs and permeates our curriculum at home.”

Arcadia offers unique programs such as the University-subsidized Preview program, which takes nearly 60 percent of the incoming class 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 opportunity and will take some 170 students on 15 programs this year alone; and 300 students will study abroad for a semester or year. The University has academic centers and offices in 12 countries around the world.

“We are delighted at this news from IIE and the hard work that this recognition demonstrates on the part of our entire community at Arcadia University,” said Lorna Stern, vice president of Arcadia University and executive director of The College of Global Studies. “As our campus seeks to embrace diversity in all its forms, it is encouraging to confirm that our students and faculty endorse our institutional commitment to globally located learning and engagement with difference.”

“The ranking is a testament to Arcadia’s faculty and staff that have been leading global field experiences and experiential learning around the world,” said Warren Haffar, dean of International Affairs at Arcadia. “Arcadia faculty have embraced the international mission of the university by expanding the walls of their classrooms to include international experiential learning and apply their disciplinary expertise across the world.”

For more information on all of Arcadia’s study abroad and international education programs, visit arcadia.edu/studyabroad.