Life after study abroad at UR and after graduation

Bring your new perspectives to class

It is in keeping with the University’s liberal arts orientation to prize diverse viewpoints and thinking that integrates a wide range of considerations. Your time abroad will undoubtedly have changed your perspective on your studies; let your new insights show in your academic work.

  • Use your new knowledge and perspectives to enrich your classroom discussions and your research projects.
  • Consider doing an independent study/thesis/senior project based on issues you learned about while abroad.

Present your research

  • School of Arts & Sciences Student Symposium. If you did research or scholarly projects abroad, consider taking part in the annual Student Symposium organized by the School of Arts & Sciences. This showcases hundreds of student research projects from across the disciplines, and consists of oral presentations, poster sessions, performances, and art exhibits. It gives students the opportunity to present their work in a professional setting, comparable to any international conference or discipline-specific symposium. Students apply in early spring and the symposium takes place in April.
  • School of Arts & Sciences Summer Research Fellowships. Spring abroad and academic year abroad participants should consider doing a summer research project, with funding from the School of Arts & Sciences. Awards can be used to do summer research/projects at UR or abroad (check visa requirements for staying at your study abroad site beyond the end of classes and exams). The OIE encourages returned study abroad participants to add an international aspect even to a U.S.-based project by working with two mentors, one at UR and other abroad.
  • Forum Award for Academic Achievement Abroad. This honor recognizes rigorous and significant undergraduate academics that occur as part of education abroad programs. Every year, award recipients are invited (all expenses paid) to present their work at a plenary luncheon at The Forum on Education A broad’s annual conference.

Use (and keep) your new language skills

  • Cultures and Languages Across the Curriculum (CLAC). Sign up for a course at UR taught in a language other than English to use and challenge your newly acquired language skills, and to earn an extra quarter-unit of credit.
  • Consider being a drill instructor for a foreign language; contact the LLC instructors who teach the language that is of interest to you for info.

Go abroad after graduating

People who have just returned from fulfilling and life-changing times abroad often want nothing more than another similar experience. UR’s Office of Career Services is the clearinghouse for information on international careers and other opportunities for spending time abroad after you leave Richmond.

Many UR graduates have gone abroad through post-UR opportunities like these: