Maximizing Short-Term Study Abroad: A Practical Guide to Program Design

Study abroad can be a life-changing experience, enabling greater autonomy, self-confidence, and self-awareness while strengthening linguistic and cultural skills. Yet, many students are daunted by traditional semester- or year-long programs. In such cases, short-term study abroad is a suitable alternative as it provides international experience with less investment of time and money. In addition, brief sojourns are less intimidating for participants who have never left their country. However, since students are abroad for only a few weeks, it is essential to maximize the impact of the program in terms of personal transformation and development of intercultural competence. Program designers must keep students in the “growth zone” by creating supportive structures that reduce the dissonance caused by unfamiliar surroundings. Specifically, a strong study abroad program should include a cross-cultural orientation before departure, mentoring and reflective journaling while in country, and a guided debriefing after return. In addition, appropriate assessment tools should be selected to measure both student progress and program effectiveness.

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