The university’s annual Study Abroad fair opened today in the Martindale lobby. The fair runs today and Thursday and will offer students information about Study Abroad programs, as well as other faculty-led courses and exchanges.
The Study Abroad program is designed to provide students with a new perspective on their major and coursework, engage students with research projects and expose students to academic content that they can’t get at Ole Miss, among other things.
International student adviser Molly Fryman said she will be at the fair both days to help students and support her colleagues.
Fryman works to situate incoming international students on campus. She said many of her international students come from schools that are promoting their Study Abroad programs at the fair.
“Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., we will have all our faculty-led programs represented, and our exchange students will be there to represent their universities’ programs,” Fryman said.
Thursday’s fair will focus on Study Abroad’s affiliate providers. Fryman said these companies run Study Abroad programs around the globe and have broader offerings than faculty-led programs.
“All of our programs are credit-bearing, so they’re usually tied to a university,” she said. “The company just usually facilitates the process.”
Study Abroad’s short-term programs are more popular than the longer terms they offer, but the Study Abroad department said it has seen an increase in students signing up for longer terms.
Senior English major Maeve Hanrahan said studying abroad for a few months can be a key part of a student’s education.
“I feel like Study Abroad is really beneficial to students, especially students learning a second language, and on top of that, it makes them more cultured to the rest of the world. I think that’s very important,” Hanrahan said.
Students interested in international education who do not want to study abroad themselves can apply to be ambassadors for incoming foreign students, Fryman said.
“We have a global ambassador program, which is like a peer mentorship program, and those apps for the fall semester will actually start in March,” she said.
Students can find ambassador requirements and an application online through Study Abroad’s website.
