Studying abroad as an engineering major is now more feasible than ever.
In the last decade, the number of chemical and biological engineering students studying abroad has more than doubled. Through short Global Seminars taught by CU professors to semester or full-year internships and study abroad programs, undergraduates are finding ways to take their learning overseas.
While the total pool of participants remains small—16 ChBE students went abroad in 2015-16—those who partake say the experience is paying dividends as they prepare to enter the global workforce.
Junior Cathryn Toomey, who studied abroad during summer 2016 at IAU College in Aix-en-Provence, France, said she decided to study abroad based on her love of travel and a desire to improve her French.
Her foreign language skills improved quickly while abroad, but Toomey said the experience also developed other traits she knows will benefit her in her future career.
“The experience helped me improve my communication skills, my confidence—which allows for more independence on my part—and my flexibility when working in unfamiliar circumstances,” she said.
The university is opening more avenues, including semester-long programs in Singapore and New Zealand, for students to study abroad without falling behind on important coursework.
Junior Andrew Tice returned in December after six months at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch. Besides getting to visit notable New Zealand landmarks, he also managed to cross off heat transfer, thermodynamics and statistics from his graduation requirements.
“One of the reasons I ended up going with this program is because I wanted to make sure I was on track and stayed on my plan to graduate in four years, so that was a really big thing,” he said.
New Zealand and Australia have been among the most popular locales for chemical and biological engineering students in the last decade, along with Italy, China and Spain. But the options are vast; students have traveled everywhere from Costa Rica to Vietnam to Iceland.
No matter the location, students said studying abroad helps to expose the differences and similarities between the United States and the rest of the world.
“It was interesting to have an outside-looking-in perspective on your own country,” Tice said.