My Purdue Study Abroad Experience

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During my college search process, I remember something that was important to me was finding a school that had opportunities for engineers specifically to do study abroad. Something that I had been told by some other schools was that “as an engineer it would be hard to study abroad without adding time to your graduation date”. This was something that I did not want, but what I learned is that at Purdue this concept is a myth. It is very possible to be an engineer at Purdue and go on a study abroad trip. In fact, it was encouraged, and this was just one of the many things that made me gravitate towards Purdue. At Purdue there are so many different options for study abroad. There are options to go for a semester, and entire school year, the summer, or what is called a Maymester. A Maymester is what I ultimately chose because it fit the timeline that I was looking for the best. This study abroad occurs right after classes get out in the spring, and usually last anywhere from 2-4 weeks. This was appealing to me, because it allowed me to study abroad and still be able to work an internship over the summer. For me this was the best of both worlds, without having to be gone an entire semester. 

My study abroad trip was for 2 weeks, going to London, Berlin, Dresden, and Prague, and it was through civil engineering. However, you did not need to be a civil engineer to be on this trip, and there were also multiple industrial, and mechanical engineers on the trip as well. The trip also counted as a technical elective that I needed, which allowed me to get a class done over the summer, but only in a 2-week period of time. There are so many different study abroad programs through all different departments, and you don’t necessarily have to do one through your specific college in engineering. There are many different ways to make the cost of the trip less, and I was able to find a way to make the trip not too expensive. There are multiple scholarships that you can apply for through either Purdue or through an outside scholarship. One scholarship that Purdue encourages students to apply for is the Purdue moves scholarship that is specifically for students going on study abroad trips. Overall, the experience was well worth it. It was a great way to meet new people that I may not have without the trip, and it also allowed me to step out of my comfort zone. I highly recommend that if you are able to go on a study abroad you definitely should. If a study abroad is something that you are interested in visit the Purdue Study Abroad website and look out for the study abroad fair as well as any specific study abroad callouts.


Alena Megregian, CE '24

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