Make Yourself More Marketable in Today's Global Workforce! - Getting an education is more than getting a degree. It is understanding and contributing to your world. To succeed in this interdependent world, it is critical that students gain an informed perspective about it. Few things can provide that perspective like a study abroad experience. Study abroad offers you the chance to live in and come to know another culture rather than just read about or visit it. In addition, study abroad provides you with the chance to understand, evaluate, and appreciate your own culture and values.

In this new era, the working environment is more globalized than ever. As a consequence, the more international experience you have the more competitive you will be on the market. Today's job recruiters are looking for employees able to function in a diverse and multi-dimensional global business environment. Employers consistently tell us that if they have to choose between two equally qualified people, they will choose the one who has studied abroad over the one who has not.
Enhance Your Global Skills & Cultural Awareness - Preliminary findings in research conducted using Texas A&M faculty-led programs over the past summer indicate that study abroad students gain statistically significant improvements in international attitudes, awareness and confidence in global skills compared to students who do not study abroad. After participating in one of these programs, you will no longer look at the world or the US in quite the same way. The ideas that you have about world affairs and the demands you make upon others who ask that you consider their viewpoints about the global community, will have matured and be more informed than they were before the program. You will be a stronger, more confident student, more discerning and sophisticated in your outlook after a study abroad experience.
Fulfill Degree Requirement For International & Cultural Diversity - All degree-seeking students at Texas A&M are required to complete 6 hours of international and cultural diversity coursework. This requirement may be fulfilled by most of the courses taught on any type of study abroad programs. Exceptions include courses such as 485's and some 489's. Furthermore, these same courses can also count toward other University Core Curriculum requirements. For example, ARTS 350 taken abroad can satisfy both your Visual and Performing Arts requirement as well as your International and Cultural Diversity requirement.
Flat Tuition Rebate - Get Some Money Back! - As a result of the recent flat tuition cost for full semesters, there is the possibility for you to save some money this summer. Under the new TAMU tuition plan, if you took less than a total of 30 hours in the Fall 2005 semester and in the Spring 2006 semester and you take summer hours that accumulate to the necessary 30 hours for the academic year, then you are eligible for a tuition rebate for those hours that you overpaid during the fall and spring semesters. Therefore, if you sign up for a program this summer, some or all of the tuition could be eligible for a tuition rebate. Here is an example of how it works: if you took only 12 hours in each of the Fall and Spring semesters and signed up and paid for the 6 hours of study abroad credit this summer => 30 - 24 = 6 hours to be rebated. Since you reached the mandatory 30 hours with additional credit of 6 hours in the summer, and paid for 36 hours (flat tuition for fall & spring plus the 6 hours in the summer), then the 6 hours taken during the summer will qualify for an automatic "scholarship" rebate to be given the following fall semester. This only qualifies if you will be in attendance at Texas A&M the fall semester following the summer (Fall 2006). If this were the case for you, it would mean that your study abroad program would be tuition free!

Furthermore, many of the mandatory fees are taken off for study abroad programs, including the Health Center Fee, Rec. Center Fee, Student Center Complex Fee, Transportation Fee, and the Writing Center Fee. For 6 hours during a summer session, approximately $150 is saved as a result. What a great way to offset the increased expense to study abroad!
Use Financial Aid & Scholarships To Pay For A Trip Abroad - Studying abroad can be more expensive than staying on campus in College Station, TX. The great news is that you can study abroad and get most, if not all, expenses covered with your Texas A&M financial aid package (i.e.., grants, loans, academic scholarships, etc.). In many cases the financial aid can be expanded to meet the additional costs of studying abroad. Financial Aid counselors will work with you individually to examine your eligibility. There are also many scholarships specifically for study abroad, including the International Education Fee Scholarship, the Study Abroad Fellowship, Honors scholarship, college & departmental stipends, and other national and regional grants and scholarships such as the Gilman International Scholarship and the Freeman-Asia Scholarship. To find out more about the many funding options for faculty-led programs, please visit http://studyabroad.tamu.edu/funding.asp.

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