AU ranked 12th out of the top 20 U.S. doctoral/research institutions for estimated undergraduate participation in study-abroad programs, according to a study from the Institute of International Education.
This is the first time AU has achieved a ranking in this particular report. The total number of AU students going abroad has increased by 65 percent in the last three years to 887 students this year, according to AU Abroad.
"The rise in numbers have shown that we have been quite successful in meeting students' needs and demands in their study-abroad experience," AU Abroad Director Sara Dumont said. "I think it's very encouraging [and] it shows we are on the right track."
Wake Forest University, Georgetown University and Dartmouth College ranked in the top three in AU's category for sending undergraduates abroad.
The institute's 2004 Open Doors Report examines the number of U.S. students studying abroad and the number of international students studying in the United States in 2002-2003.
AU did not rank in the top 30 research institutions that sent more than 1,000 students abroad last year, nor did any other D.C. school. The top schools in this category were New York University, sending more than 2,000, the University of California-Los Angeles, sending more than 1,900, and Michigan State University, sending more than 1,800. If 1,000 AU undergraduates went abroad, it would represent about 17 percent of AU's undergraduate population.
Dumont said more AU undergraduates are studying abroad because AU meets students' expectations. She also attributed the increase to the addition of new program sites. In 2001, 15 sites at capitals around the world were offered. This year AU Abroad also offered 33 additional sites that included Ghana and Ireland. AU Abroad also plans to expand to sites in the Middle East, Latin America, Africa and Asia, according to Dumont.
