The annual Study Away Fair was held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sep. 18. Fourteen booths promoted programs running during spring break and all semesters in 2026. Locations include Suriname, the Bahamas, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Florida, Italy, Germany, Japan, Scandinavia, Spain, and many more. To participate in these programs, students must have two semesters at MTU completed, submit a Study Abroad application before the deadline, and be in good academic standing with MTU. There are also scholarships available, such as the College of Engineering Study Abroad Scholarship or Class of ’74 Study Abroad Scholarship.
Students can earn 2-10 credits on faculty-led programs, depending on which program and classes are selected. These classes include business, arts, biology, and other fields at Tech. When asked what students can expect on their trip to Suriname, Parth Bhatt, Assistant Teaching Professor, said, “There’s some pre- and post-work that students will be doing, and then there’s a whole week of spring break they’ll spend in-country in Suriname… They’ll be flying drones, collecting some mangrove data sets, and interacting with local indigenous community people.” Students can also become international exchange students, where they travel to partnering international colleges for a semester or year at the cost of Michigan Tech’s tuition. This excludes registration, housing, and travel/living expenses. Programs include the French exchange program, Frontiers abroad, Global Semesters, John Cabot University, University Studies Abroad Consortium (USAC), Worldstrides, and others that can be viewed online.
Leyre Alegre-Figuero, the director of Modern Languages and Cultures and teaching professor at Tech, has this to say about studying abroad. “They are immersed in a different culture, in a different society. If they go to a country where they speak a different language, they are faced with having to negotiate everything in the target language. In Spanish or in German, the students need to get used to the schedule differences, the times in which people eat, where they’re going to eat, et cetera…, I think that sometimes the hardest part that I’ve seen students is when they don’t know all the things that they can do or the opportunities that they do have. And to me, that is really important, that people experience a different country, a different culture, and a different way of doing things”.
With Michigan Tech’s study abroad program, there is something for everyone. If you are someone who has considered being part of a study abroad program but has worries about the experience, Alyssa Franck, a second-year student, has this to say about her time in Barcelona this past summer. “It was an opportunity to test my Spanish speaking skills…and create connections with lots of different types of people around the world. It helped me appreciate history, art, and architecture… I made thousands of memories as well as lifelong friends.” Mclean Myer, a senior who went to the Japan Center for Michigan Universities in 2023, also spoke positively of his experience, claiming, “It was a place I’d never have been before, and I got to learn a lot. I think being there definitely made it a lot easier to try to learn Japanese because you get to use it much more. And the other great thing is the location was pretty nice.”
For more information or questions about any of the study away programs offered, visit https://www.mtu.edu/study-away-abroad/ or contact studyabroad@mtu.edu
