Early indications show the number of students choosing to study abroad has increased this semester, after reaching its lowest point in a decade last year.
This fall, students are studying abroad for a total of 268 semesters, an increase from last year's number of 254, Kendall Brostuen, director of international programs and associate dean of the College, wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. Although figures for spring 2011 are not yet available, the number of open applications has increased 7 percent from this time last year, he wrote.
During the last academic year, 439 students studied abroad, down from 555 two years before, according to data from the Office of Institutional Research.
Brostuen attributed the dip to the world economic downturn , and cited figures from the 2009 Forum on Education Abroad survey, which showed a decline in study abroad participation in 60 percent of the colleges and universities surveyed.
He wrote that he does not believe the decline at Brown was due to the change in tuition policy that obliges students to pay a full semester of Brown tuition when studying abroad. The policy, which was approved in 2005, took effect in spring 2009. Previously, students paid the tuition of the programs in which they were enrolled, which are generally less expensive than Brown's tuition.
Brown students currently studying abroad in Bologna, Italy, echoed Brostuen's view. Natalia Fadul '12 wrote in an e-mail that the policy did not impact her decision.
Natalia Medina '12 wrote that she has "no idea what the tuition policy is."
Both indicated that they chose the Brown-affiliated program for reasons unrelated to tuition. Medina mentioned that Dante and Mozart studied in Bologna, while Fadul wrote that Bologna is a "very welcoming" city.
Anna Baran '12, who is studying in Paris, wrote that she wanted to study abroad before starting at Brown and that she was encouraged to study abroad because she is an international relations concentrator.
