MSU's Office of Study Abroad has embarked on a large-scale project to integrate its programs into the undergraduate experience of all majors.

The Curriculum Integration Project is a four-step process that aims to improve curriculum preparation for a study abroad experience, expand ways credits earned can meet requirements, enhance degree value and incorporate the experience to on-campus study.

Project Director Julie Friend said her team is investigating integration options in the colleges of Communication Arts and Sciences, Engineering and Natural Science. Friend said these areas have a harder time fitting study abroad experience into the academic careers of students.

"The students are pretty sure they want an experience, but it may not be as transparent and they have a harder time making it work," she said.

The project team is breaking down the university's study abroad options by specific majors to best assist students in finding the programs that suit their cultural wants and academic needs.

The office has almost 200 programs in 64 countries.

A draft academic advising sheet is complete for Lyman Briggs Environmental Science majors. Friend said the team started small in a program already active in the Office of Study Abroad to set the stage for future research.

Lyman Briggs Biology Professor Jerry Urquhart signed on with the team with a vested interest in study abroad - he teaches two faculty-led programs.

"The goal with this is to make it easier for students to study abroad and satisfy important courses to graduate," he said. "The biggest thing I run into when I talk to students about study abroad is 'how does it fit into my major?'"

Teresa Pfaff, a sociology and Spanish junior, went on an internship program in Madrid last summer through the office and said she liked the opportunity, but she said the office could use some restructuring.

"Michigan State has a great study abroad program, but it's not applicable to a degree program," she said, adding that only half the credits she earned during the summer study apply to her degree.

The University of Minnesota has been working on a curriculum integration between its Learning Abroad Center and the university since 1997 and has become a model for other universities, including MSU. The Minnesota center's curriculum integration has increased enrollment in its more than 400 programs.

"We've seen growth on all our four campuses," said Lynn Anderson, director of curriculum integration and associated director of the Learning Abroad Center.

The MSU project team will visit the university next month for a conference.

For more information on the Office of Study Abroad's Curriculum Integration Project, visit http://studyabroad.msu.edu/currintegration/project.html.