Study abroad and cultural immersion: an alumni retrospect

This paper draws on an analysis of 2600 study abroad alumni responding to a survey that spans more than 25 years. Our inquiry focuses on evaluating how programme length, housing arrangements, number, and type of co-curricular activities impact alumni’s attributions of personal growth and their attitudes towards global engagement and future social relationships. This paper is also informed by a 5-year alumni follow-up study. Our study finds that the type of housing and participation in co-curricular activities have a significant moderating effect on alumni attributions. With rare exception, programme length does not have a significant impact on reported outcome measures. We conclude the paper with a discussion of how these findings can help guide future research and administrative programming.