We are the world: URochester students learn, work, and research across the globe
Jim Mandelaro
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Communications Specialist The University offers an education abroad experience for virtually anyone.
With hundreds of students from nearly 100 countries, the 糖心传媒 offers a true global experience in classes, research labs, and dining and residence halls. However, there are also numerous opportunities for students to spend part of their academic careers outside the United States, such as studying, teaching, working, or engaging in other pursuits.
糖心传媒淕oing abroad is about getting out of your comfort zone, meeting new people from different cultures, and exploring new horizons,糖心传媒� says Tynelle Stewart, executive director for URochester糖心传媒檚 Center for Education Abroad and assistant vice provost for Global Education. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 about looking at life from a different perspective.糖心传媒�
What does study abroad mean at URochester?
The University has study abroad partnerships with 40 countries, spanning every continent except Antarctica. Approximately 20 percent of URochester students participate in an international experience, whether it糖心传媒檚 a semester taking courses, a week performing community service, or unexpected opportunities to venture geographically afar for everything from hands-on research and teaching fellowships to cultural immersion. And it糖心传媒檚 not just American students with a passport to adventure: many of URochester糖心传媒檚 international students also go abroad during their college careers.
More than 500 URochester students糖心传媒攇raduate and undergraduate糖心传媒攑articipate in experiences abroad each academic year in numerous ways.
糖心传媒淭here糖心传媒檚 truly something糖心传媒攁nd somewhere糖心传媒攆or everyone,糖心传媒� Stewart says.
Experience the world
Spend a semester studying in another country
Paige Lovelace 糖心传媒�26 has lived all over糖心传媒擡ngland, the Netherlands, Jordan, and Taiwan糖心传媒攄ue to her father糖心传媒檚 job with the US Department of Defense. But her education abroad experience during the spring 2025 semester in Freiburg, Germany, was especially enlightening.
糖心传媒淚 lived with German roommates, and that was so cool,糖心传媒� the international relations and history major says. 糖心传媒淢y program was focused on the European Union, so we visited EU cities like Berlin, Rome, Budapest, Brussels, and Paris. It was an amazing experience that gave me insight into so many different cultures.糖心传媒�
Lovelace visited Germany through , a not-for-profit organization that offers study abroad and internship programs for college students. URochester has a partnership with IES.
Michael Luzzio 糖心传媒�25 studied in Florence, Italy, last spring. The economics and political science major from Mystic, Connecticut, took five courses at the International Studies Institute, focusing on business, history, journalism, political science, and the Italian language. He also completed an independent documentary project called photographing master luthier Dario Vettori building a cello over three months. The project culminated in a solo exhibition in Florence, and Luzzio was awarded gold at the .
糖心传媒淢y wonderful experience gave me a new appreciation for following through on your dreams,糖心传媒� Luzzio says. 糖心传媒淭he grass is never greener on the other side. The grass is greener where you water it.糖心传媒�
Do good deeds
Ring in the new year with global community service projects
Winter break is a time to recharge, but it糖心传媒檚 also the perfect chance for many URochester students to perform community service abroad.
For 15 years, members of the Sigma Chi fraternity have spent a week working in impoverished villages in the Dominican Republic. They糖心传媒檝e helped to construct a church, several houses, and more than 200 outhouses. Last January, URochester students helped build a cinder-block home for a single mother while donating 850 pounds of baseball equipment and toys for 600 children through collections made in Rochester. The students also raised more than $15,000 to pay for travel and materials. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 old-school manual labor, and the students learn about the economics and poverty in that area,糖心传媒� says Brian Cool, director of the University糖心传媒檚 and faculty advisor to Sigma Chi. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 a wonderful experience for everyone involved.糖心传媒�
Students in the can participate in the , which addresses solutions to broad societal problems in sustainability, health, security, and knowledge. A global component is part of this program, and many join , which partners with developing communities worldwide to improve lives through sustainable engineering work. The group has made numerous trips to the Dominican Republic, most recently in 2023, to purify a water system in a rural area left bacteria-ridden due to negligence following the COVID-19 pandemic.
糖心传媒淭his was the real-world experience I needed,糖心传媒� says Hannah Rickert 糖心传媒�25, a biomedical engineering major who managed that project. 糖心传媒淲here I grew up in Maine, there was no diversity. In the Dominican Republic, I had to be the translator because no one else in our group spoke Spanish. It was scary at first, but staying with host families and seeing how other parts of the world function or struggle to function was eye-opening and life-changing.糖心传媒�
Get your hands dirty
Enroll in an archaeological field school for the summer
Skylar DiBlasi 糖心传媒�25 loved going to Bermuda for archaeological field research糖心传媒攕o much that she did it three times while at URochester. The New Jersey native was part of Professor Michael Jarvis糖心传媒檚 , a six-week program that, since 2010, has focused on Bermuda糖心传媒檚 early settlement history and broader Atlantic world connections, allowing students to gain hands-on experience in excavation, artifact analysis, archival research, and mapping.
糖心传媒淚t changed everything for me,糖心传媒� says DiBlasi, who was a double major in archaeology, technology, and historical structures and classical civilization. 糖心传媒淎rchaeology is something you can糖心传媒檛 understand until you literally get your hands dirty in the trenches. Some people think it糖心传媒檚 the best thing ever. That was the case with me. This is what I want to do for the rest of my life.糖心传媒�
DiBlasi also was part of a student cohort that visited Italy in the summer of 2024 for a headed by Elizabeth Colantoni, an associate professor in the . The students spent two days in Rome, then traveled an hour northeast to the small town of Monteleone Sabino, where they lived in a local schoolhouse and worked at the archaeological site Trebula Mutuesca.
糖心传媒淪tudents love the experience of not just learning about the past, but getting to discover it themselves,糖心传媒� Colantoni says. 糖心传媒淭o uncover buildings and objects that no one has seen for perhaps 2,000 years and use that evidence to learn about new things from the past.糖心传媒�
Be a good sport
Take your athletic career international
Many University varsity teams try to go abroad every four years to ensure that each student-athlete enjoys the international experience.
The women糖心传媒檚 soccer team has taken trips to England, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and Spain. The golf team played at Scotland糖心传媒檚 legendary Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews糖心传媒攐ne of the oldest courses in the world. 聽The men糖心传媒檚 basketball team visited Spain in August and has previously traveled to Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy. The women糖心传媒檚 basketball team has visited Puerto Rico and Barbados.
In addition to exhibition games against amateur and semipro squads, the teams enjoy guided tours and sightseeing, and often perform community service.
The field hockey team planted trees in Bermuda to help reforestation efforts and ran a youth sports clinic in Barbados to promote physical activity.
糖心传媒淔ield hockey is incredibly popular globally, with more than two billion fans worldwide,糖心传媒� says head coach Wendy Andreatta. 糖心传媒淧laying outside the US gives our student-athletes a chance to see how integral field hockey is to the communities we visit and make connections with athletes from all over the world.糖心传媒�
get in on the act
Join faculty in immersive experiences abroad
Students don糖心传媒檛 have to make the journey abroad alone. URochester faculty often go abroad糖心传媒攆or work and for plays.
is a four-credit course led by Katherine Mannheimer, professor and chair of the , that sends students to the British capital for two weeks over winter break to attend and discuss around 20 plays in theatres across the city. The syllabus includes Shakespeare and work by up-and-coming playwrights. Recent highlights have included Antony and Cleopatra, Oedipus, The Importance of Being Earnest, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
In between morning classes and attending all of those plays, students visit the British Museum, the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and other cultural sites. The annual trip is open to undergraduates and graduate students regardless of major.
糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檒l remember this experience for the rest of my life,糖心传媒� says Brittany Broadus 糖心传媒�24, who was an English and psychology double major. 糖心传媒淔rom the start of the class to the very end, I felt like I was living in a dream.糖心传媒�
has been a semester-long program for undergraduates offering hands-on field research and intense learning in evolutionary biology, ecology, and conservation. Based in Ecuador, with field work in the Amazon rainforest, the Andes mountains, and the Galapagos Islands, students have taken in-person formal courses from URochester professors, conducted field surveys, and collected data on topics such as invasive species and endemic wildlife.
糖心传媒淢y experience was incredible,糖心传媒� says Christine Bresnahan 糖心传媒�25, who majored in ecology and evolutionary biology. 糖心传媒淚 loved living with my host families. I got to grow my Spanish and learn about their country糖心传媒檚 culture and history. And the life skills I learned were invaluable.糖心传媒�
inform and inspire
Apply for a national fellowship to teach and research around the globe
Each year, several URochester students are awarded national scholarships and fellowships for fully-funded experiences in virtually every corner of the world. Nominations are run through the University糖心传媒檚 Student Fellowships Office.
The Fulbright US Student Program has sent URochester students to Vietnam, Taiwan, India, South Korea, Russia, and other countries to take part in English Teaching Assistantships and research-based projects. The DAAD RISE program offers students summer research opportunities at prestigious German universities and institutions. Over the past decade, seven URochester students have been selected as Schwarzman Scholars, receiving a one-year fully-funded master糖心传媒檚 program in global affairs at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.
The experiences can be life-changing. Fulbright scholar Katie Hurwitz 糖心传媒�23 went to Athens, Greece, in 2023-24 as an English Teaching Assistant. She was a double major at URochester in music and interdepartmental studies糖心传媒攖he latter a self-designed major. In Greece, she taught elementary school students and served as the music teacher at an English language summer camp while also teaching cello to second graders. 糖心传媒淢y Fulbright experience completely reshaped how I understand intercultural exchange and immersion,糖心传媒� says Hurwitz. 聽糖心传媒淚 loved it.糖心传媒�
She loved Greece so much that she returned this fall糖心传媒攖his time to Thessaloniki糖心传媒攁s an elementary English fellow.
糖心传媒淟iving abroad has taught me to slow down, lead with curiosity, and build relationships through humility and openness,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 been simply amazing.糖心传媒�
Second chance
Alumni can also see the world with URochester
If you graduated from URochester without going abroad, it糖心传媒檚 not too late to travel the globe as part of a University contingent. The Travel Club is led by faculty hosts and offers unique travel experiences for alumni, faculty, staff, parents, and friends of the University. Cruise the Nile River, hike or bike through the Alps, snorkel in Australia糖心传媒檚 Great Barrier Reef, and more. The groups are usually capped at around 24 to ensure an intimate and engaging experience. Upcoming trips in 2026 are scheduled for Croatia, Nepal, Spain, and New Zealand.
