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St. Olaf ranks No. 1 in study abroad for 11th straight year

Students participating in St. Olaf College’s Global Semester, led this fall by Associate Professor of Education Elizabeth Leer, at the pyramids in Egypt.

St. Olaf College sent more students to study abroad during the 2017–18 academic year than any other baccalaureate institution in the nation, according to the Open Doors 2019 Report on International Educational Exchange.

“For 11 consecutive years, St. Olaf has had the privilege of being the No. 1 baccalaureate institution for the total number of study abroad participants,” says Director of International and Off-Campus Studies Jodi Malmgren ’92.  “We have partnerships in all regions of the world, offering students opportunities for academic study, vocational exploration, intercultural learning, and personal growth. The secret to our success is that study abroad is a collaborative effort. From the President’s Leadership Team, to the faculty in all academic disciplines, from the staff in offices as diverse as Financial Aid, Counseling, and Student Life, to the alumni who support endowed scholarship funding, we are all working together to support student access, inclusion, and success.”

We have partnerships in all regions of the world, offering students opportunities for academic study, vocational exploration, intercultural learning, and personal growth.International and Off-Campus Studies Director Jodi Malmgren ’92

St. Olaf currently offers study abroad programs in nearly 40 countries, including more than 60 semester or year-long programs and nearly 30 courses each Interim. Faculty-led semester programs include Global Semester and Environmental Science in Australia and New Zealand. Students can work with the International and Off-Campus Studies Office to find a program that fits their interests.

According to the Open Doors report, St. Olaf also ranked first in short-term study abroad numbers for baccalaureate institutions.

Open Doors is the comprehensive information resource on international students in the United States and on the more than 340,000 U.S. students who study abroad as part of their academic experience. The Institute of International Education publishes the Open Doors report annually with funding from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.