The U.S. Department of Education reports that the number of U.S. students who study abroad has quadrupled during the past 20 years, with Linfield in the top 25 baccalaureate schools for student participation.

Half the students at Linfield study abroad, for a month, semester or year. Regular classes are disbanded during the month of January, when students have the opportunity to study at international locations in courses planned and taught by Linfield faculty. The school picks up the tab for airfare to and from the destination country and arranges host families for longer stays.

Students trace the origins of evolution on the Galapagos Islands or visit opera houses in Austria. In New Zealand, they study the Maori culture. They study marine biology in Hawaii, Arab civilization in Spain, medieval philosophy in Europe and technological advances in China. Many courses have a service component, with students and faculty caring for children in Mexican orphanages or building homes in Guatemala.

Jordan Marcelo Jacobo ’11, who lived in Nottingham, England, with Linfield’s Study Abroad program, wrote, “I always imagined the world as a faraway place, but it is so close, at our fingertips, and when you see the world, you care about it.”

International Programs at Linfield