Senior Sarah Rhyne grew up in the same house for the first 18 years of her life. When she arrived at UNC, she found herself in a more diverse population. But nothing expanded her world view quite like studying abroad in the Netherlands this past spring.
Rhyne’s global experience is one of many at UNC that personifies a recent Open Doors ranking. The University was ranked 17th among U.S. schools in study abroad in Open Doors’ 2018 Report. Measured by total study abroad participation, UNC was also ranked 17th last year.
Jason Kinnear, the interim associate dean of study abroad and international exchanges, said the ranking demonstrates UNC’s commitment to sending students to study abroad.
“Study abroad is talked about a lot, so our goal at this office is to tap into that and to really push things forward and create more opportunities for students,” Kinnear said.
Rhyne, who is from Matthews, N.C., said studying in the Netherlands made her strongly consider job options in social work or psychology outside of the United States and gave her a more open-minded worldview.
“I’m living and learning and experiencing everything with people from all over the world,” Rhyne said. “I wasn’t with a lot of other Americans, so I think everything I find myself doing now I think twice on. Is what I’m doing super American, or is that typical of the rest of the world? I’m just constantly comparing I guess but in a good way.”
Rhyne’s decision to study abroad follows a national and University trend, according to the Open Doors Report. In the 2016-17 year, 2,244 UNC students studied abroad, an increase from the year before by around 100 students. Nationally, 332,727 students studied abroad with a 2.3 percent increase from the previous year, according to the Open Doors Report.
“It’s a great opportunity to explore the world, to gain a greater understanding about yourself and about how your academics fit on a global scale,” Kinnear said. “It gives you new opportunities to meet people, to explore new things, to explore your heritage possibly, to learn a new language and then also it’s something that employers are seeking after tremendously, so by studying abroad students are automatically setting themselves apart from 85 percent of other college students in the U.S. who don’t study abroad.”
For Lauren Sticklin, a sophomore who studied abroad this past summer in Ireland, the experience allowed her to gain confidence and make some of her favorite memories abroad with new friends. The only thing Sticklin thought UNC could improve on with studying abroad was the level of preparation the University provides students for their selected program.
