Centre named top U.S. school for studying abroad

About 85 percent of college’s students study abroad

DANVILLE, Ky. (Nov. 17, 2014) — Centre College is the nation’s best college for studying abroad, according to the Institute of International Education (IIE), the leading nonprofit educational and cultural exchange organization in the U.S.

It is the second in three years that Centre earned the top spot in IIE’s Open Doors report.

Over the past 10 years Centre has been ranked second, third, fourth on two occasions and fifth. This year’s data is from the 2012-13 school year.

On average, 85 percent of Centre students study abroad.

Just this year Centre students have been actively scouring the globe.

Drs. Joe Workman and Kerry Paumi took students to New Zealand to study volcanoes, while Drs. Kyle Anderson and Chris Paskewich took students to Shanghai and Thailand to study Buddhist religion and culture.

In addition, Dr. Jonathan Earle took students to Rwanda and Uganda to study African religion and politics, Dr. Christian Haskett brought students to India to study religion, Dr. Stephen Dove led a course to Guatemala to study human rights, Dr. Brian Storz conducted a course on marine biology in the Bahamas and Dr. Tony Haigh took students to England to study regional theater.

In all nearly 200 Centre students took specialized classes with Centre faculty or conducted internships in places around the world in January 2014.

In January 2015, students will study in Barbados, Belgium, Budapest and Prague, Cambodia and Thailand, Cameroon, Greece, Israel and Jordan, London, Peru and Spain.

Students also will participate in semester-long courses directed by Centre faculty in London, England; Strasbourg, France; and Merida, Mexico. Other destinations include Yamaguchi, Japan, as well as Northern Ireland and Spain.

A number of students will study in Glasgow, Scotland, a program especially attractive to students interested in science or preparing for medical school. And those wanting to study Mandarin and conduct an internship in China’s largest city will study at Shanghai’s Tongji University.