Well, students of Centennial High School, if you have been keeping up with the blog until this point, you have learned about the academic and professional benefits that come along with majoring in communications. Now it is time to talk about my favorite part about being a communications major: study abroad. Studying abroad has become an increasingly important part of the college experience. The benefits of studying abroad are really endless and they are incredibly significant. According to a study conducted by the University of California, 97% of study abroad students found employment within 12 months of graduation, 84% of study abroad alumni “felt that their studies abroad helped them build valuable skills for the job market”, and 80% of study abroad alumni claimed that their study abroad experience allowed them to better adapt to diverse work environments. So what does this have to do with majoring in communications? In a communications major, studying abroad is encouraged! In fact, communications majors at the University of Maryland have a global competency requirement that they have to meet in order to graduate, and the easiest way to meet that requirement is by studying abroad.
At the University of Maryland, you have several options as far as studying abroad goes. You can do an exchange program, where you go to another country and basically have University of Maryland equivalent courses. You can do an extended studies program, which is studying abroad during your spring, summer or winter breaks. Or, you can do what I did and you can study abroad through a Maryland approved program that is not directly affiliated with the University but you can still get academic credit for it. For my study abroad experience, I went on Semester at Sea and studied international communications. Semester at Sea is sponsored by the University of Virginia, and on it I took classes like intercultural communications, development communications, and international mass media. On this program I got to go to twelve different countries across Asia, Africa, and Europe, all while learning about international communications! This experience allowed me to learn about myself, my field, and the world. It is an experience that I wouldn’t trade for anything, and it was all made possible due to the fact that I decided to major in something like communications where I was encouraged to do so. (386 Words)
Works Cited
http://globalmaryland.umd.edu/offices/education-abroad
“What Statistics Show about Study Abroad Students.” University of California,
What Statistics Show about Study Abroad Students.
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