Caitlin Hoeberlein, CC ’13, is one of two Columbia undergraduates currently studying in Senegal, a West African nation. A little more than a week ago, Senegal’s constitutional council made the controversial decision to allow President Abdoulaye Wade to run for a third term.
“It’s pretty crazy here right now because of the elections ... We were not supposed to leave our houses over the weekend because of riots and demonstrations, some of which turned violent,” Hoeberlein said. “It’s definitely exciting, and it will be great to be here if Wade does not win the election.”
Hoberlein is one of the increasing number of Columbia students who are studying abroad in developing countries. While Western European countries remain the most sought-after study abroad destinations, more students are showing an interest in developing countries. Only 15 percent of students who went abroad in the 2001-2002 school year studied in developing countries, but this number rose to 26 percent in 2010-2011, when South Africa was the fourth-most popular study abroad country.
Two hundred fifty-eight students traveled abroad last school year, and their top five choices were France, the United Kingdom, Spain, South Africa, and Australia. This number rose from 205 in 2001-2002, when Italy, France, England, Australia, and Spain were the most popular. The top developing countries in 2010-2011, in order of popularity, were South Africa, China, Argentina, Egypt, and Peru.
“There has definitely been a shift towards more students traveling in the developing world, which we define broadly as countries outside of Europe, North America, Oceania, Hong Kong, Japan, Republic of Korea and Singapore,” Sara Ede, program coordinator at the Office of Global Programs, said in an e-mail.
Hoeberlein chose Senegal as an alternative to France in order to pursue her sustainable development major.
“Sustainable development is definitely becoming a more popular major and area of study, so that might have something to do with” why more students are going to developing countries, Hoeberlein said in an email.
Annie Tickell, CC ’13, chose South Africa because of an interest in the country’s ongoing attempts to rise above its history of ethnic disputes.
“I wanted to study social unrest, particularly in relation to ethnic conflict, and saw South Africa as a country that is still in the process of moving forward from a complicated and violent period of unrest,” Tickell said in an email.
Tickell speculated that students’ growing desire to study in Africa is a result of more media attention being directed toward the continent.
“Expanded news coverage, the growth of international organizations, the continuation of African diasporic movements have begun to make the continent more recognizable,” Tickell said.
Three-quarters of students traveling to developing countries last year were female. Tickell said that being a woman added to the challenges she faced while studying in South Africa.
“I frequently felt uncomfortable and wary of my obvious incongruity,” Tickell said. “This was mainly because I am a woman, which is still a somewhat subordinate identity in modern South Africa.”
More female students overall have been going abroad as well. In 2010-2011, 66 percent of study abroad participants were female, compared to only 56 percent a decade earlier.
Like Hoeberlein, Emma Spencer, CC ’12, witnessed social upheaval when she traveled to Egypt for an archaeology program last year, on the eve of the Arab Spring protests. Egypt is currently the fourth-most popular developing country for study abroad.
“I remember reading about the first protestor self-immolating in Tahrir Square early in the month while we were at the dig house and wondering abstractly what would end up happening,” Spencer said in an email. “We started the excavation a few days before the Friday when the government turned off the Internet and cell phone texting.”
While the numbers of students traveling to Egypt may increase as a result of interest in the Arab Spring, Ede said Egypt was already becoming a more popular destination for other reasons.
“The changes to Egypt numbers probably has a lot more to do with increasing interest in learning Arabic,” she said. “Egyptian Arabic is considered a very standard dialect.”
Among developing countries, Argentina and China have remained top study abroad choices over the past decade. Matt Getz, CC ’12, said students chose Argentina because it complements New York’s energetic vibe, and Linda Ma, CC ’12, said that China is fascinating because it is currently confronting issues of censorship and urbanization.
“I was definitely interested in the current events of the country,” Ma, who studied in Beijing and other cities, said in an email. “Two issues I was particularly interested in were media censorship (particularly that of cinema) and disparities in healthcare delivery between urban and rural areas.”
She added, however, that China can remain out of reach for students without a background in Chinese languages. She grew up in China.
“For my program, which involved … taking classes alongside local students, the requirement was six semesters of Chinese, which students rarely attain prior to junior year without serious committed study,” Ma said.
In contrast, Getz said, Argentina is more accessible to foreign students.
“Buenos Aires is dynamic and urban, but somehow manageable … I think that while many of the countries of Central and South America throw up red flags for certain people, Argentina (and particularly Buenos Aires) is largely viewed to be safe and open for travelers,” Getz said in an email.
But France, where there is a new undergraduate research program at Columbia’s Paris global center, was still the number one choice for study abroad last year.
“My decision to study abroad in Paris was largely due to my acceptance to the Global Scholars Program at Reid Hall,” said Noel Duan, CC ’13. “The undergraduate program is allowing me to pursue funded research in Europe for the summer—which was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”
Also be sure to check out this interactive graphic sharing some students' study abroad stories.
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