College is the time to explore different aspects of life to find friends and find oneself. One of the pinnacle programs that really brings this sentiment into fruition is the study abroad program at Kean. This program allows individuals to explore different parts of the world, see things from a new perspective and also help students work toward getting their degrees. While being exposed to other cultures and ways of life for either a full year, single semester or an even shorter amount of time with the Travelearn program, students can become more well rounded and make strides toward their education.
In order to be eligible for a study abroad program, one must meet the minimum GPA requirement of 2.8 both prior to and during the trip. You also must be at least at the sophomore level. Financial Aid is available to students for trips as well, and the study abroad coordinator for each trip works closely with students to determine a reasonable budget. A very popular trip is to Kean's campus in Wenzhou, China. If one is interested in a study abroad program like this, which lasts for either a whole year or a semester, please visit the Center for International Education in the Center for Academic Success (CAS), Room 201 or make an appointment by emailing them at cis@kean.edu.
For students who want to study abroad but cannot be away for long periods of time, the Travelearn program is perfect. A perk of this program is that it goes to more places than the regular study abroad program as the dates of the trips are much shorter, lasting a week or so at a time. Travelearn programs are lead by a small number of faculty members who are experts in their respective field of study. For this program, there is an array of forms that a student would need to fill out before being eligible to go on a trip. These forms can be found on the Travelearn Forms webpage and include TL Application Instructions, Policies and Procedures, Administration and FAFSA.
There are study abroad and Travelearn programs available for students across all majors. For example, this past March, there was a Travelearn trip to Italy with the psychology department that lasted for the entirety of spring break and covered ground in places such as Venice, Florence, Siena, Assisi, Pompei, Naples, Rome and the Vatican. The trip was coordinated by Ilyse Odesky, Psy.D., as associate professor in the School of Liberal Arts and the School of Psychology, and assisted by professors Richard Conti, Ph.D., Fernando Linhares, D.Min. and Janine Martins Shannon, Ph.D.
"The psychology study abroad program creates a wonderful learning experience for all students. The trips have been exciting to connect class content to actual field experiences and gain great insight into the field of psychology encompassing the various cultures around the world," said Professor Shannon, who teaches various courses such as Educational and Cultural Psychology in the Nathan Weiss Graduate College.
"As a professor, I have enjoyed the trips to not only transfer the knowledge to the students but most of all to see the students' expressions as they themselves are able to make the psychological connections from their studies. I am very happy that as a psychology department we are able to afford this wonderful study abroad opportunity for our students," she said.
Whether students are searching for affordable ways to see the world or looking to broaden their horizons, the study abroad and Travelearn programs offer life-changing trips that will leave students hungry for more.
Students interested in studying abroad may attend the Wenzhou-Kean Information Session Tuesday, Sept. 17 from 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. and a Financial Workshop for Study Abroad Tuesday, Oct. 15 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. All these opportunities and more are available on Cougar Link for students looking to find out more information.
