A Global Education: Study Away!
Jefferson’s Study Away program offers every student an opportunity to experience the world and learn about another culture and place while earning degree credit.
With more than 30 Study Away options in 40+ countries from Colombia to Italy, from Senegal to Australia, our portfolio of options can meet every student’s need and schedule. And we’re continually expanding.
Some students spend a semester or a year abroad. For example, fashion majors participating in the Jefferson Rome semester can study with Italian stylist and costume designer Antonella Buono; and industrial design students can partner on projects with local German businesses while on a semester exchange at the Köln International School of Design. And students of Sidney Kimmel Medical College can choose to perform their fourth-year rotation in a variety of healthcare institutions around the world.
Other students take a short course abroad during winter, spring or summer break—venturing, for example, to study biomimicry in Costa Rica, global economics in Havana or textile manufacturing in Paris, or to gain occupational therapy or couple and family therapy fieldwork experience in Morocco and Spain.
Regular on-campus workshops and Jefferson online resources make it easy to explore Study Away options and find just the right one.
Students in Nexus Abroad’s global economy course visited Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS) of India and the tea gardens of MunnarKochi Tea.
Going to the Next Level
Rich and meaningful Study Away experiences have a lasting impact—personally and professionally. Inspired by his exploration of art in Florence and Venice, architecture student Andonis Hughes was able to take his work to the next creative level. Fieldwork abroad was a once-in-a-lifetime personal experience for occupational therapy student Julia Sablom; and, professionally, it helped her better understand how Moroccan and Spanish cultures affect occupational performance. Study in Europe forever changed fashion design student Allison Moore’s outlook and way of thinking, and spurred her to greater heights as a designer. A semester in Costa Rica fueled physician assistant student Mariah Pease’s desire to continue learning Spanish and to use that knowledge to help make every patient feel confident and comfortable.
“Walking around Rome, we were seeing and doing stuff that I would find in textbooks. I am grateful that this has pushed me to my limits and out of my comfort zone.”
Jamie Garden (on the right) pictured with one of the PhDs she worked with in Israel, taken in the Old City of Jerusalem during their annual light festival.
Funding Global Experience
Jefferson offers a variety of scholarships and financial awards for students pursuing studies or hands-on experience abroad. The newest, the Lockyer Global Passport Scholarship (LGPS)—provides financial aid-based grants for study away undertaken by College of Architecture and the Built Environment students. Alumnus and philanthropist Robert Lockyer ’68 and his wife, Carol, established the program to help advance global understanding and education. Their son, Sean—a ’99 graduate of the University—recalls that studying abroad opened his eyes to how other cultures live, work and interact. “I was only able to truly experience this by immersing myself in the culture,” Sean says. “A mere travel vacation would never have provided the same experience.”
While the LGPS is brand new, the Foerderer Award for International Study has, for decades, helped fund Jefferson students’ travel abroad. Each year, dozens of awards are made, providing significant funds to offset the cost of experiences lasting three-to-ten weeks. Last year, Sidney Kimmel Medical College student Jamie Garden used a Foerderer Award to gain experience at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem.
“While I was shadowing a Palestinian resident in the ER, he had to break bad news to an Orthodox Jewish family. The family started praying in Hebrew, and he joined them and was contributing even though he’s Muslim. It was a beautiful moment—kind of like peace in the Middle East—to see those cultures coming together...”
Jefferson textile and design students’ innovative work is featured at the quadrennial International Textile Manufacturers Association in Barcelona—the most important global showcase in textile innovation, design, development, manufacturing and marketing.