[212] Numerous countries accessible at MTSU through Study Abroad Fair Nov. 19

MURFREESBORO — MTSU will put the world at its students’ fingertips at its annual Study Abroad Fair.

The event, which exposes students to information about studying in other countries, is slated for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 19, in the Student Union’s first-floor lobby.

Office of Education Abroad Director Tiffany Bickers said personnel will staff about 30 tables. About 20 of those tables will provide information on faculty-led programs. Other tables will have information about organizations and consortia that also offer educational excursions.

Bickers said 415 MTSU students took advantage of study-abroad trips during the 2013-2014 academic year.

“Out of that 415, definitely over 50 percent participated in faculty-led programs,” Bickers said.

Statistics compiled by the Office of Education Abroad show that global studies majors led the number of students taking study-abroad courses last academic year.

They were followed by mass communication, foreign language, art, recording industry, international relations, speech and theatre, organizational communication, animal science, biology, English and psychology.

While the Study Abroad Fair is in progress on the first floor of the Student Union, workshops about scholarships to help pay for the educational trips will be conducted on the second floor in Room 201.

Workshops are slated for 10:30 to 11 a.m., 11:30 a.m. to noon and 1 to 1:30 p.m. These workshops will offer information on Fulbright grants, Gilman scholarships, Boren scholarships and fellowships and Critical Language Scholarships (CLS).

The CLS provides overseas language training in Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bangla, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Indonesian, Korean, Persian, Punjabi, Russian,
Turkish and Urdu.

“They’ll want to start six to 12 months in advance in order to access as many scholarships as possible because the deadlines are so early,” Bickers said.

In addition, MTSU’S International Education and Exchange Committee allocates about $250,000 in study-abroad scholarships each year.

Bickers said students who want to study in other countries in the summer or even in the fall should seek assistance before winter break. Study-abroad students will be on hand at the fair to provide testimonials about their own experiences.

“We want it to, of course, be rigorous academically, but we also want it to be fun and (full of) learning not just in the classroom, but outside of the classroom,” Bickers said.

The Study Abroad Fair is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Office of Education Abroad at 615-898-5179 or Bickers at tiffany.bickers@mtsu.edu.

For information about Boren, Fulbright, Gilman and CLS scholarships, contact Laura Clippard in the University Honors College at 615-898-5464 or laura.clippard@mtsu.edu