Before Maxwell Olivero traveled to Dubai during his freshman year, he never had been exposed to such a religiously devoted population, watching the people pray five times a day and changing his perspective on religion.
Now, the social relations and policy sophomore is preparing to study abroad again in Amsterdam — one of an estimated 2,422 students who will study abroad during the 2011-2012 academic year.
Europe has been MSU’s most visited destination for study abroad for more than six years and continues to hold the top spot, according to a report released from the MSU Office of Study Abroad.
But participation in non-traditional locations has been on the rise, said Cheryl Benner, Office of Study Abroad Communications Manager.
“In general, MSU is consistent with the national trend, with Europe being the most popular region and students traveling to the UK more than any other country,” Benner said. “That being said, non-traditional locations located throughout Africa, Asia, the Americas and the Middle East represented more than 40 percent of MSU’s participation.”
MSU’s top 10 destinations for study abroad in 2009-2010 were the United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, Mexico, Spain, France, China, Japan, South Africa and Brazil.
After Europe, the region with the second highest amount of MSU students studying in the 2011-2012 academic year is North and South America, followed by Africa, according to the Office of Study Abroad.
Brazil and South Africa have been making waves with students during the past few years, said Office of Study Abroad Associate Director Cindy Chalou.
The MSU Area Studies Center has been working to improve relations with Brazilian institutions, which has caused the number of programs in Brazil to increase, Chalou said.
MSU also has made strong academic ties in Africa, she said.
“We have more programs on the continent than any other institution,” Chalou said.
Chalou said changes in the number of students who visit a particular region could be related to the state of the economy, and the numbers vary from year to year.
Olivero said the biggest factors that influenced his decision to study abroad again were the program and the location.
Not only is the program in line with requirements for his major, but he also finds Amsterdam to be an interesting location because it is so widely accepting of other sexual orientations, he said.
“I think it will be an interesting experience to accept myself and find my identity,” he said.
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