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Home > McCulloch Center for Global Initiatives > Learning Abroad > Study Abroad
Study Abroad
Each year more than 200 Mount Holyoke students spend a semester or a year studying abroad. Whether you are interested in field studies, language immersion, or a traditional classroom experience, study in another country and culture will open new perspectives on yourself and your sense of place in the world.
The McCulloch Center for Global Initiatives coordinates advising on study abroad, including choosing and applying to programs, preparing for departure, and helping to make a smooth transition back to Mount Holyoke. Our office maintains extensive resources, including program catalogues, student evaluations, and a list of students returned from or currently studying abroad.
You may also call x 2072 to make an appointment to meet with Joanne Picard, Dean of International Studies (for study in Asia and the Pacific, Europe, or Latin America) or Jale Okay, Director of International Experiential Learning (for study in the Middle East, and Africa). Appointments in September are reserved for students applying to study abroad in the spring of 2008, as they will have early deadlines. Students interested in studying abroad in the fall or beyond may call after October 1 to make appointments. In the meantime, explore our website, stop by our office, and come to the many informational programs and events that we offer in September. New this year:
- There are now two deadlines for Laurel Fellowship (financial aid) applications:
- December 7, 2007, for Fall 2008 and Academic Year 2008-09
- March 31, 2008, for Spring 2009
- In Spring 2009 we will launch a new interdisciplinary program in Costa Rica! "Global-Local Challenges to Sustainability: The Costa Rican Experience" focuses on the challenges that arise from increasing global-local interaction in the cloud forest community of Monteverde. This spring semester program is jointly sponsored by Mount Holyoke College, Goucher College, and the Monteverde Institute.
- You can now search by subject for courses that other students have taken abroad. Our new searchable data base allows you to search by subject and country to see what courses other Mount Holyoke students have taken while studying abroad.
Student Profiles
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Amy Cagulada, ‘07
Litchfield, CT
I hadn't even been outside of New England before I went to Denmark for study abroad! This might sound dramatic, but life did really change once I saw myself in another cultural, geographic, national environment. I love what I was doing at Mount Holyoke, but it was so rewarding to see that I could use the same skills set in a new environment and still manage my life effectively. |
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Julia Dettinger, ‘07
San Diego, CA
From my study abroad experience, I've learnt that when one exposes oneself to different things, one learns to imbibe more. Most importantly, you become more creative when you see what else is happening and how different it is from what you've seen and are used – and you need that creativity to produce the best kind of work in Science. |
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Arti Sarma, '07
Hollywood, FL
The most meaningful part of the experience is the relationships I built with people there, which gave me more than a glimpse into the love and renowned hospitality of the people in South India. |
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Michelle Thorne, '07
Heidelberg, Germany
My year abroad was one of the best experiences of my life. Not only did my familiarity with Germany grow, but I felt that I became integrated into the student body and life at a large, European university. I met many wonderful people, both local and fellow foreigners. My academic interests crystallized thanks to one of my courses. Also I was able to join in the ruckus of the World Cup and participate not only as a spectator, but as an employee. I learned more than I expected about Europe, living on my own, my American identity, and what an amazing place this little jewel in Saxony is. |
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Catherine Fauteux, '07
Redding, CT
Being abroad for a year has made me so independent: I traveled an entire week through central Europe without speaking any of its languages fluently; I learned how to cook full-course meals on a gas stove having never before been able to light a match; I know that I can go home from the Vatican to my apartment on foot in under two hours! I also learned that no matter how awesome sights, and sounds, and smells, and tastes that I experienced, they are rarely as rich as when they are shared with other people, whether newly made acquaintances or old friends visiting from home. |
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Cecily McAndrews, '07
Glastonbury, CT
Studying abroad has made me braver. After that, this past summer I went to Korea with a CGI internship, something I never would have tried without my experience in Paris. Today, I would not be such a strong person without my year in Paris, followed by the summer in Korea. |
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Emily Johnson, '07
Portland, OR
Students feel that being in the sciences doesn’t require getting to know the world. But science is ultimately about the social good. A lot of times it’s misused and mistreated and that’s why it’s important to go out and see for yourself how your work has or will have an effect on the entire world. |
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Aleksandra Mihailovic, ‘07
Sibenik, Croatia
After studying and doing research in Italy, I feel it’s important for MHC students to see how science is being done abroad. There’s a lot of money and funding that’s available in this country, and here at MHC, we have excellent facilities. But in many places overseas, there isn’t that much funding, and still their scientists are motivated and creative, which is quite humbling to see. It is important for us students to go abroad for such reminders, to put one’s own life into perspective. |
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Heidi Roop, ‘07
Appleton, Wisconsin
Vietnam was a real growing experience for me. I lost my Grandmother while I was there and leaving Vietnam and returning again after such a tremendous loss was incredible. It made me appreciate Vietnam in a different way, look at it with new eyes while I gained a new appreciation for home and all of the opportunities I have been afforded thus far in my life. |
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Puja Deverakonda, ‘07
Herndon, VA
Towards the end of my sophomore year, I had begun to question whether or not International Relations was truly my interest. But applying everything I had learned about global politics to an entirely different context, and viewing it from a Chinese lens, rejuvenated my interest in my major. |
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Thea Youngs, ‘07
Penacook, NH
While abroad, I had to adjust to everything taking much longer than it would at Mount Holyoke, and life moving at a slower pace, teaching me an invaluable lesson in patience. Coming back to MHC after a year, I find myself trying to be more balanced in my life than I was before I left, and this is thanks, no doubt, to the life I led in England. |
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Grace June Kim ‘08
Bronx, NY
I advanced as a human being in so many ways as I was living abroad: How to live independently in an apartment, negotiating culture shock, adapting to a new lifestyle, developing cultural intelligence, progressing significantly in French. I also learned that the world is a much smaller place nowadays and we need to be conscious of a growing global community. |
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Erin Coates ‘08
Portland, Maine
It was very eye-opening to learn to communicate with people from a culture other than mine and with another language, and at the same time be respectful of them. Academically, I learned a lot, but I have also discovered a lot about myself, the world and how I want to live in it, about my relationships with people. Now I definitely have a direction in my life and more passion for my interests. And I have acquired a useful skill: safe traveling. |
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Emily Goldstein ‘07
Wayland, MA
Going to Ireland is the best thing I ever did, mainly because I really got to know myself. I found out I could rely on myself to deal with anything that came along. And I got better at picking various ways of interacting with people. It was really nice exploring a new culture, while still being in a sort of familiar place since in Ireland they speak the same language. It was really cool to see familiar things in a different way! |
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Amberle Fant ‘08
Madbury, New Hampshire
I have learned to take things as they come, live more in the moment and take advantage of all opportunities. For example, the opportunity arose to speak at the American Chamber of Commerce in Copenhagen, so I grabbed it and had the honor to speak there. I realized that I really want to work and live abroad after graduation. I like speaking and interacting with people from different cultures. I have a lot to teach them and they have a lot to teach me. |
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Other students include the following:
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