Although the number of American students studying abroad has more than doubled in the past 15 years, less than 10 percent of students graduating with an associate or bachelor’s degree study abroad each year.

Director of Study Abroad at Central Michigan University Dianne De Salvo said although amount of students from the United States studying abroad has increased it’s still “pathetically low.” According to Open Doors 2013, published in partnership with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, 283,000 American college students studied abroad in 2011-12 for credit and in non-credit programs, up three percent from last year.

The Institute of International Education’s Generation Study Abroad initiative aims to double this number by the end of the decade. CMU was among the first schools to join the initiative and De Salvo said CMU’s partnership with Generation Study Abroad shows the university’s commitment to get more students studying abroad.

Last year, about 3 percent of CMU students studied abroad. According to De Salvo, several factors could contribute to this number, such as cost, America's distance from other nations, and the attitude that the United States is “the number one power” and people should want to come here.

She said students need to make the decision to enhance their degrees through study abroad. De Salvo said ideally, the study abroad program will grow and become part of the curriculum. For some departments, such as the foreign language department, study abroad is an important part of the curriculum.

Frankenmuth senior Brittany Garcia spent a semester studying in Spain. The spanish major said she benefitted from applying class learning to real-world experience.

“I feel like the only way to truly learn a language is to be put directly in the middle of it,” Garcia said.

She said her study abroad experience will show employers she is independent and has good problem-solving skills.

According to De Salvo, studying abroad has helped students get jobs after graduating. IES Abroad surveyed 1,008 study abroad alumni and found 97 percent of them got a job within a year of finishing college.

“I was at a presentation for a research company and they said, ‘if you have not studied abroad, don’t apply here because we do research with people in other countries and other cultures,’” De Salvo said.

Though some students may have no intentions of working overseas, studying abroad still has its benefits.

“You may be working on a project for a country outside the U.S. — you have to know how to deal with the country and the person,” De Salvo said.

Garcia said knowing another language gives her an “extra edge.”

“Personally, I like being able to communicate with more people. Being able to connect with people on that extra level, you can understand them in their own language,” she said.

Though majoring in a language takes dedication, Spanish professor Alejandra Rengifo said having a major in another language “will open up doors.”

“The fact that you learn another language makes you different. Unfortunately, Americans have the reputation that they don’t want to learn another language, they think they’re better than everyone else, but the moment you go abroad and you speak the language, people immediately warm up to you,” Rengifo said.

Both De Salvo and Rengifo said that it doesn’t matter what language students learn or which country they travel.

“The idea is that you understand that there are differences and you know how to notice them and you know how to work through them,” De Salvo said. “It’s not that we’re right and they’re wrong; there are just differences.”

The Office of Study Abroad is located in Ronan Hall 330 and students can meet with a peer advisor to learn more.