By Ryan Downs

Staff Writer

College is meant to be a time for students to go outside their comfort zone and learn more about the world; by travelling to a new country.

For those who may be interested in this, there is CSUSM’s Study Abroad Program, the campus’ proud organizer of exchange programs between CSUSM and foreign schools.

“Practical benefits are many for studying abroad. It’s a resume builder, it can give you a competitive edge when talking to prospective employers,” Study Abroad Coordinator Tiffany Gabbard said.

There are a variety of programs designed to cater towards students’ desired schedules. The most popular is the semester exchange, which is a single semester-long exchange to a school in a foreign country. Other programs can run as short as two weeks or as long as a full academic year.

Studying abroad is incredibly flexible and designed to work with both the student’s time and money. Many of the transfer schools that students can choose from also speak a fair amount of English.

“There are different fee structures in place for shorter-term programs…we try to be aware of our student’s needs. For the semester exchange and year-long programs, you are essentially paying the same tuition you would here,” Gabbard said.

Students who have participated in the study abroad program have had positive things to say and found that they got a chance to explore themselves and their possibilities.

“Studying abroad was one of the highlights of my life,” Lance Rosenberger said. “I feel I learned and grew more in my one year abroad than in my whole time in college.”

The process is incredibly simple questions are welcome at the Office of Global Education in Craven 3200. Students can also visit the Study Abroad page on the school website: http://www.csusm.edu/global/, for information on schools that fit their interests and work for their majors.

Walk-in hours are from 10 – 11 a.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays and 3 – 4 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.