Vanderbilt's Global Education Office offers over 100 programs across the globe for students wanting to study abroad. According to Ara Pachmayer, director of the GEO, most of the programs are offered during the academic year, while there are usually only 10 to 12 Maymester programs and 20 summer programs.
Summer abroad programs are in diverse cities in Asia, Europe and South America, and most programs begin in late May or early June and end in late July or early August, and the tuition and fees are approximately $8,000.
Semester abroad programs are offered in Europe, South America, the South Pacific, Asia, the Middle East, North America, the Caribbean and Africa. The costs fluctuate, but are usually $18,000.
Pachmayer said students typically opt to study during their junior year in the fall or spring in Western Europe.
"It is so easy for students to study during the academic year (because) they get direct credit, and there are so many options. It is much easier for students to study in a semester, but in the end, it is a personal choice whether summer or a semester is better," Pachmayer said.
According to Pachmayer, 600 students - a majority of who are women - study abroad during the year.
While many students prefer to study during the academic year, there are both pros and cons to studying abroad during the summer or the academic year.
"I chose to study in the fall because it worked well with my schedule and is the traditional time for students to go abroad," said junior Blake McKeeby, who works as a peer adviser for GEO and studied in Siena, Italy in 2008. McKeeby said a major disadvantage, however, was missing out on a semester at Vanderbilt.
Many students believe an advantage to studying during the year is the length of time spent abroad.
"I would recommend a semester program. I think the increased amount of time you have really helps in getting to know the town, and becoming a part of it," said junior and peer adviser Katherine Precht, who studied in St. Andrews, Scotland during the fall semester in 2008.
"Maymesters and summer programs are much shorter and can infringe on someone's ability to participate in internships or jobs during the summer," said senior Gustavo De Pena, who studied in Brazil in the spring of 2008. "The semester programs are longer, a fact that benefits anyone pursuing improvement in a foreign language. And it is important to point out that some programs such as Sao Paulo Brazil are not offered as part of the summer program mix."
Some students still think a summer experience can be beneficial because of academic constraints.
"Because of my major requirements I am not comfortable with leaving campus during the academic year and still be able to acquire the correct amount of hours," said sophomore Teresa Temkin who is interested in studying abroad next year.
