Villanovans are jetting off to pursue their academic, professional and personal ambitions abroad this school year. The Office of Education Abroad saw the largest spike of students studying abroad for the 2024-25 academic year since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Seven-hundred-seventy Villanova students have participated in education abroad programs throughout the 2024-25 academic year. Students have had the opportunity to pursue various abroad experiences including two-week intensive courses, summer, semester-long and year-long opportunities. These programs were either led by Villanova faculty members or university-affiliate partner programs.
The most popular program structure that Villanovans selected this year was the partner-program semester.
“I think a lot of [the increase] does have to do with students that were impacted by COVID in high school and realizing that the world has opened up a bit more after that, and really taking advantage of all the opportunities that Villanova has available for its students,” Director of Education Abroad Liz Campanella said. “I think that’s really been the big point for us, is that the opportunities are available and that students have been taking advantage of them. And in fact, actually, right now we’re on pace to surpass our numbers for next fall.”
Almost 56 percent of Villanova students who studied abroad this year participated in semester-long programs, with more students away during the Fall Semester. This is compared to 44% of participants engaging in Maymester and summer programs.
“I’m a bio major, and I want to go to med school, and a lot of med schools don’t accept the core curriculum science courses that you would need, so you have to do those during the school year, and it’s just difficult to find places abroad and programs that fit that requirement,” junior Joey Kirner said. “I decided to go over the summer and just take a one course, three weeks long, in Copenhagen, just to wet my feet a little bit, but also enjoy Europe and everything that it had to offer.”
Villanova will be offering two new summer programs this upcoming term. The six-week Amsterdam and Global Interdisciplinary Studies Shanghai programs will allow students to explore their academic interests in history, English, and the Chinese language while abroad.
“I’ve loved traveling since I was young, so it had always been a dream of mine to study abroad when I came to college,” said junior Emily Jo, who participated in the Honors politics, philosophy and economics Cambridge University program. “Studying abroad is such a special opportunity to live somewhere new for five months and get to experience a new culture and way of living. My time abroad shaped so much of who I am and my overall university experience.”
The College of Arts and Sciences saw the greatest number of students (392) participate in both university and partner-affiliated programs this year. VSB followed with 300 abroad participants. The College of Engineering saw 37 students go abroad, while the College of Nursing had 28.
During the abroad application process, students work alongside major advisers in the Education Abroad Office to gain guidance in creating the best personalized academic abroad plan.
“As a nursing major, colleges with study abroad programs are very rare since the curriculum and schedule is so strict,” sophomore Maeve Cantwell, who participated in the Sophomore Nursing Experience in Dingle, Ireland, said. “That is one of the things that attracted me to Villanova. They had the option to go abroad to Ireland for a whole semester, which I knew I could not pass up that opportunity.”
Although Villanovans have studied on every major continent this year, Italy and Spain were the top countries that students called home during their times abroad.
“I think these are cultures that our students are interested in exploring, maybe from a family background or a language background,” Campanella said. “You know, students have taken a lot of Spanish in high school. We have a lot of students that come to us along those lines. So I think those are some points that, at least initially, get students into those locations. I mean, certainly we would love to see more variety in students choosing things and then, like differentiating themselves, there are program options, and we can send students through our partners anywhere in the world.”
The Office of Education Abroad usually sees the greatest traffic in their office in September, but students can engage with advisers throughout the entire year.
“I think that students should study abroad, really, to grow as a person, to grow academically, to ignite your intellectual curiosity about the world and to meet people that have different points of view and different upbringings,” Campanella said. “I think those types of opportunities when students can kind of really get into where they are and take advantage of all of the various opportunities to change their place, to change their mindset, to change just to be open and be curious about the world.”
Students can begin planning their study abroad experiences as early as their first semester on campus by visiting Garey Hall and learning about the multitude of opportunities that lie ahead.
