Students will have the chance to learn about opportunities to continue working on their degree outside of Tucson at a Study Abroad Fair on Wednesday.
The Study Abroad Fair, which will take place in the Student Union Memorial Center, will provide information about study abroad and student exchange programs, as well as financial aid. The fair will also feature tables from Campus Health Service, among other non-faculty related services.
Harmony DeFazio, director of Study Abroad and Student Exchange at the UA,said the fair will teach students about UA faculty-led programs that also provide UA credit. The Arizona in Paris program, for example, offers French credit and is taught by French department faculty, DeFazio said.
“For the student who wants to have a little bit of that comfort of home with them,” DeFazio said, “going with the cohort of your peers and the faculty you know is a benefit.”
Most faculty-led programs are in the summer, but there are a few available in the fall and spring semesters, according to Rudo Moyo, a study abroad coordinator for the UA.
There are need-based and merit-based study abroad scholarships available. Some of the benefits of the program include making friends, a better chance for future employment, as well as resume building, according to Moyo.
“It’s a life skill to be able to have that multicultural experience,” Moyo said. “It also just makes you a more tolerant person.”
Computers will also be available for students who want to start their applications, DeFazio said. The fair also features a photo contest from previous study abroad students.
This year, staff decided the fair would be held in the Student Union South Ballroom instead of on the Mall, like in previous years, DeFazio said.
The new location makes it possible to set up computers for applications and to project photos of other students’ study abroad experiences, she said.
The UA offers many other types of study abroad programs, such as a student exchange, DeFazio said.
“They’re very different types of experiences,” DeFazio said. “We help the student pick the program that’s the right fit for them.”
Jarell Zablan, a political science freshman,said he plans to attend the fair and believes studying abroad gives students the opportunity to “enrich their favorite subject while putting it on a global scale.”
“I think that [it] gives students a chance to get a more global view of themselves,” Zablan said, “and also in terms of what they’re trying to study.”
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