See the World and Earn College Credit!

There’s more to an education than sitting in class, and if you want to go traveling to broaden your mind and to see more of the planet we live on, you can do so while still earning college credit. Though there are certainly study abroad programs that can help you, you can also piece together your own program. Start discussions with your college months before you hit the road, and you may be looking at an entire semester of credit as head off on your way!

Language Study

Language study is the traditional college credit that is offered when you head abroad. Of course, for this to be legitimate, you need to be going some place where you are immersed in your chosen language. While this may be a little daunting for people who have never lived somewhere where they don’t speak the dominant language, it can teach you the ins and outs of a new language in extraordinarily short order!

When you are looking for language credits, it is always better to live off of campus and away from others who speak your native language. While it can make the first few weeks rather startling and unsettling, you will see a marked increase in your ability in a very short amount of time.

Service

Many colleges welcome the idea of students who are earning college credits abroad through service. There are a number of volunteer services that are dedicated to improving the condition of people in various countries, and when you sign up with one of them, you can initiate talks with your college to look into sociology credits, international study credits, or ethics credits, among others.

Consider the work that you are going to be doing. In some cases, you will be working with children and providing educational assistance, or you might simply be doing labor and building homes or facilities. No matter what you are doing, you will learning, and once you can make the college see that, you will be earning credits as well.

Online Courses

If there are classes you need to take, consider online coursework. More and more professors are offering online class options to their students now. You can learn without being in a lecture hall, and you can take advantage of high speed internet connections to watch lectures as they happen. You can access all the information that you need on the Internet, which means you could be fulfilling math requirements while you’re sipping coffee on the Spanish coast.

Online courses give you an excellent opportunity to keep up with your coursework while you are on the go. As long as the area where you are going has a good Internet connection, you can pull in the same information as you would if you were sitting at home. Remember to talk to the professor and to let him or her know about your circumstances; you never know when being abroad can net you some extra credit!

Many people want to travel, and if you have the opportunity to do so, you should leap on it. Traveling broadens your mind, and you’ll discover that it can enhance your education experience as well!

About Author:

Clark Smithson writes for several higher ed blogs. To read more about mba programs online click here.