Staff Writer- August Von Seth
On Wednesday, September 10th, the Center for International and Cultural Education held the Study Away Fair on campus. Between 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., students were invited to the Jackson Campus Center to meet with Gustavus faculty and representatives from third parties offering academic experiences outside of St. Peter, Minnesota.
“The Study Away Fair is really an opportunity for students to come and learn about what we have to offer on campus and so we’re here in the hallway outside the dining hall and in the dining hall hallway with faculty members at tables who are promoting their May Away courses,” Director at the Center for International and Cultural Education Christine Diaz said.
May Away is the name of professor-led educational programs taking place outside campus, primarily during the month of May. Generally, the courses are conducted outside the United States and in an environment that complements their subject matter. Following pressure from the student body, Gustavus Adolphus College altered its academic calendar in 2024 to remove the January Term, instead resorting to a system that “aligns better” with other schools. This shift ended the January Interim Program and gave birth to its successor, the May Away Program.
“The January Interim Programs have typically been very popular. With the switch to May Away, we’re still getting our footing, but we had about 80 students go last May and we’re anticipating even more than that this May,” Diaz said.
The Director at the Center for International and Cultural Education emphasized that the program is different from conventional tourist travel in terms of duration and “educational foundation.”
Behind the row of tables in the hallway were a variety of educational institutions, organizations, and companies that had set up shop in the nearby Heritage Room to promote their programs. Among them were College Year in Athens, Center for Global Education and Experience, the University of Minnesota’s Learning Abroad Center, and School for International Training (SIT), whose colorful booths displayed each one’s unique promotional materials, including brochures, flyers, and their respective logos.
“I know for me personally, studying abroad had a huge impact on my personal growth, especially with building confidence, as it was my first time being alone in a foreign place like South Korea, where I studied abroad—before it was cool!” Program Advisor at the University of Minnesota’s Learning Abroad Center, Christina Dunbar said.
Zachary Coeman, an Admissions Counselor at the School for International Training (SIT), a university in Brattleboro, Vermont, draws attention to the multitude of fields students can choose from.
“We call them ‘Critical Global Issues’—a program theme if you will—so they would study together that theme in the classroom but also get taken out of the classroom doing field work or meeting with local researchers and then also contributing themselves to the field,” Coeman said.
“Lately, I would say the Climate and Environment theme has been our most popular issue that we’ve been having. Probably about a third of our students have been doing programs related to climate change or sustainability or something with the climate environment theme.”
There is widespread agreement among international studies representatives that European countries are leading the pack of the most popular host countries for young Americans today. Dunbar identified Spain and France as the University of Minnesota’s top destinations. For SIT’s part, Europe finishes first and Latin America second.
“We’ve been doing a focus lately on Africa, particularly south of the Sahara programs, so that’s gaining in popularity but probably still kind of towards the bottom, it’s kind of where our area of focus has been lately,” Coeman said.
Present at the fair was also the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program, a 25-year-old federal government program that offers up to $5,000 in scholarships for those who would like to study abroad. At press time, the total attendance cost of Gustavus’ May Away Programs, including transportation and housing, has not been made public.
First-year student Meghan Anderson visited the fair and applauded its diversity of offerings. She expressed an interest in going to Greece to gain insight into the country’s history and architecture, but pointed out that such a venture may be costly.
“It would definitely be doable with a fairly significant scholarship, ” Anderson said.
The initiative comes as the number of U.S. students outside America is rebounding from a COVID-era dip, with the 2022-23 academic year seeing a spike of 49% compared to the year before. Data from the Institute of International Education shows that the group was more numerous before 2020 than it is today. All the top five destinations are in Europe.
May Away applications open on October 1st, 2025, keep a lookout if you’re interested!