Creating the Cosmopolitan US Undergraduate: Study Abroad and An Emergent Global Student Profile

Abstract

Undergraduates in the USA bring to college a wide array of backgrounds, resources, and supports that make it more or less likely that they will participate in study abroad during their undergraduate career. This study investigates the experiences of undergraduates who have studied abroad, as well as the elements that facilitate the study abroad experience. The data suggests that students must overcome a number of constraints in order to study abroad. While the paths to study abroad are divergent, a number of common individual and institutional factors affect students' likelihood for successful participation in a study abroad experience while at college. The data indicate that students must have at their disposal the necessary tools to overcome significant hurdles to study abroad. Institutions of higher education play a crucial role in facilitating not only the study abroad process itself, but also the pre-existing mindset, goals, and sense of agency that students possess in order to take advantage of study abroad opportunities.

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