CSB/SJU Ranked No. 3 in National Study-Abroad Report

01/17/2006

The College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University are ranked No. 3 nationally among baccalaureate institutions for total number of study abroad students in the annual report on international education, Open Doors 2005, published by the Institute of International Education (IIE).

The two schools had a total of 565 students study abroad during the 2003-04 academic year, according to revised data released by the IIE in December. Highlights from the Open Doors publication are released each year in November for the preceding academic year.

About six in 10 CSB students study internationally before they graduate, a participation rate nearly twice the national average for liberal arts colleges. For the past two years, Saint Benedict and Saint John’s have together been among the top three undergraduate liberal arts colleges nationally in the number of students participating in international study programs.

Before graduating, half of all CSB/SJU students will participate in one of CSB/SJU’s 17 semester-long programs. The programs, located in 13 countries on six continents, are led by faculty.

“CSB/SJU offers a broad spectrum of choices for students interested in global learning and expanding their career options,” said Dallas Kenny, dean of international and experiential education at CSB/SJU.

Kenny noted that the programs allow students to gain proficiency in international languages such as Chinese, Spanish, French, German and Japanese, “and to apply their knowledge in real-life internships and service activities in international organizations, communities and companies,” he said.

“We are delighted to be nationally recognized, and excited that more and more of our students seek out these incredible opportunities to study abroad,” said Kristi Kremers, CSB/SJU global education coordinator. “The credit for our remarkable standing goes directly to the campus community, which has made great strides to infuse international education throughout the four-year experience at CSB/SJU.

“It is absolutely critical that our graduates have the tools and skills to compete in today’s global workforce, and clearly our students, faculty and administrators recognize this and rise to the challenges presented,’ Kremers added.

Five of the top 20 American baccalaureate colleges sending students abroad in 2003-04 are located in Minnesota – No. 1 St. Olaf College (771 students), No. 3 CSB/SJU, No. 8 Gustavus Adolphus College (419 students), No. 11 Concordia College-Moorhead (411 students) and No. 16 Carleton College (359 students).

A total of 191,321 U.S. students studied abroad in 2003-04, an increase of 9.6 percent from the previous year. Over the past decade, the number of U.S. students studying abroad has more than doubled, according to the IIE.