Students from BU’s Study Abroad Program in Sydney, Australia. Photo courtesy of BU Study Abroad

Study Abroad

Learn How You Can Study Abroad at Today’s Expo

Discover BU’s 83 programs in more than 20 countries, with new offerings in Taiwan and Jordan

Is Comm Ave starting to look too familiar? 

Boston University’s annual Study Abroad Expo is today, September 13, from 10 am to 2 pm at Marsh Plaza. Come learn about BU’s 83 different study abroad programs, get your questions answered by Global Programs staff and program managers working at BU’s overseas sites, and pick the brains of former student participants. 

This year, BU’s newest programs include a summer language program in Taipei, Taiwan, and a semester-long program studying Arabic culture, politics, and religion in Amman, Jordan. In total, BU’s study abroad options—which take students to places like Cape Town, South Africa, Padua, Italy, and Sydney, Australia—span over 20 countries. 

Sue Robinson, BU Study Abroad associate director of university relations and campus outreach, says the expo is the University’s largest flagship event for study abroad. “It’s really a holistic opportunity for students to learn a lot about study abroad,” Robinson says.  

At BU, some programs operate out of the University’s own sites in the various countries, others place students directly in foreign universities, and a few are run by partner study abroad organizations. Students can also choose between completing an internship abroad, taking major-focused classes, or taking general classes.

Representatives from other BU departments, like Financial Assistance, Scholarships and Grants, and the Newbury Center (a support hub for first-generation students), will also be at the expo to help students understand how to integrate going on a Study Abroad trip into their existing curriculum. Robinson says students can make advising appointments with the Study Abroad office while at the expo. 

And the expo will also have games and free swag. 

Still on the fence about studying abroad? Consider a student perspective. Dorothy Pak (COM‘24) studied abroad in London last spring and describes the experience as amazing. 

Pak helped manage social media for an English NFT (non-fungible tokens) gallery, and says she often took trips to Spain, Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, France, and more from her base in London. “I felt more worldly, and learning about different places and different cultures was just so eye-opening for me,” says Pak, who had never left the United States before. 

If you’re not quite ready to leave American soil, BU still makes it easy to study abroad within the United States with programs in Los Angeles and Washington, DC. 

Gareth McFeely, executive director of Study Abroad, urges students to come to the expo with an open attitude. “The more that students are able to be flexible and go in with an open mind, the more they’re likely to embrace the experience no matter what the location is,” he says. 

Wherever your study abroad journey takes you, McFeely and Robinson both say that planning ahead, meeting with advisors, and keeping your options open is your best bet. As for the decision to actually study abroad, it’s all a matter of taking a leap of faith, Pak says. “If you’re thinking about it, and if everything lines up, just do it,” she advises. 

The deadline to apply for spring programs is October 1, and the deadline for summer programs is March 1, 2024. Find the application here. 

If you can’t make it to the expo, check out the BU Study Abroad calendar for weekly information sessions and more. You can also follow @buabroad to hear student perspectives and stay up-to-date on Study Abroad news.