A two-day study abroad fair was hosted in the Eli Broad College of Business on February 3-4, 2010, to showcase study abroad opportunities available for business students.

There are 25 business related study abroad programs available for students who want to gain first-hand international business experiences while at Michigan State. Business students can also participate in one of more than 200 other programs offered through the Office of Study Abroad.
 
"Studying abroad is important because it opens your eyes," said Georgia Katopodis, senior in supply chain management and student assistant at the International Business Center. "I met people from around the world when I studied abroad, and my experience made me realize how global business really is."

Almost 600 business students studied abroad in the 2007-2008 academic year, the most recent year for which data is available, and almost 3,000 total students studied abroad at MSU - and numbers continue to increase.

"We have seen a good turn out at the fair so far," said Dwight Handspike, assistant director for Undergraduate Student Academic Services. "We're seeing a lot of students interested in studying abroad; they have done their research and they are looking for something specific."

He said the programs that are led by Broad School faculty are "in pretty good positions" and "the number of students signed up for programs is higher this year than it was at this time last year."

Mitchell Brown, a senior in finance and a peer advisor at the Office of Study Abroad, studied abroad to China in the fall. He said his experiences have created many career opportunities. He said interviewers are interested in his intercultural experiences and what he learned in his new environment.

"Study abroad causes a lot of intellectual and cultural growth," Brown said. "It is an experience you can't learn any other way."

MSU is a leader in study abroad participation among public universities in the United States, according to Open Doors 2009, the annual report on international education released November 16 by the Institute of International Education.


More information about business study abroad programs can be found online at: http://global.broad.msu.edu/studyabroad/
The MSU Study Abroad Office: http://studyabroad.msu.edu/