News Summary

OXFORD — Miami University's increase in students who studied abroad in 2006-07 is in keeping with a national trend, according to a report by the Institute for International Education.

That year, 1,421 Miami undergraduates earned academic credit for study abroad, and 37 percent of Miami undergrads go overseas by the time they graduate. That's up 11 percent from the previous year.

"It's a strong increase," said Claire Wagner, Miami spokeswoman "The university is working toward a goal of 50 percent of our students earning credit overseas."

The university ranked 25th nationally among comparable universities in undergraduate participation in studying abroad, according to the The Open Doors 2008 report.

Miami students are able to apply their Miami scholarships and federal financial aid to co-sponsored programs with other, non-Miami semester study abroad providers. The new policy, implemented last semester, is one of a series of decisions made recently to expand study abroad for Miami students in every degree program, according to school officials.

Miami has been among the top 30 nationally among doctoral institutions for the total number of students and undergraduate participation for the past 13 years.

The increase nationally marks a decade of unprecedented growth in the number of national American students receiving academic credit for their overseas academic experience — from less than 100,000 in 1996-97 to nearly a quarter of a million in 2006-07, according to the Open Doors report.

Likewise, the number of international students enrolled on U.S. campuses is at an all-time high, with an increase of 7 percent.

The number of international students enrolled at Miami in 2006-07 increased 17 percent over the previous year, from 382 to 467.

"The world is becoming more connected," Wagner said. "So the more opportunities students have to learn from our global neighbors — whether it's international students coming to us or our students going overseas — the benefit is a greater understanding of different cultures."

For information about the IIE's Open Doors 2008 report, go to www.opendoors.iienetwork.org.