Making the Most Out of Study Abroad

If you are studying abroad or planning to and think you may be interested in returning to work, intern or volunteer in the future, take a moment to consider the following:

• Get engaged now! As a study abroad student, you have internship or volunteer opportunities that might not be available to you later. Any kind of in-country experience will be useful if you plan to pursue future globally engaged opportunities down the road. Ask your on site resident director or study abroad advisor about opportunities for you to get involved.
• Check out UM study abroad programs that have experiental learning opportunities
• Investigate local organizations that are related to your field of interest and conduct informational interviews
• Network with professors, advisors and administrators at your study abroad site to gain a better understanding of the opportunities available to you and local resources
• Keep a written record of all of your contacts and information that you obtain and bring it back to the U.S. with you so that you can follow up after you return from studying abroad
• Visit the U.S. Embassy where you are studying abroad to ask about requirements for employment in that country as well as what documentation and visas you will need
• Visit the career center of your study abroad host institution, if available
• Use Careers4Terps to check for open positions in the country you are in

• Understand the local culture in the workplace of the country you are interested in. Going Global includes this and other relevant country specific information.