This isn’t your mother's study abroad.

UC Davis students who are saying goodbye to loved ones and hello to the adventure of a lifetime for spring quarter abroad are experiencing something else.

“What study abroad looks like today is very different,” says Zachary Frieders, director of UC Davis Study Abroad. “It’s no longer what was once just immersion at a foreign university.”

Programs offer more

Today's study abroad experiences are diverse and structured around core academic requirements, he says, while also including experiential learning opportunities that students demand.

• Students are taking strategic sequences of courses that help them make progress toward their major.
• More programs are designed for students in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).
• Lab experience, internships, guest lectures and guided tours are part of the programs.
• And opportunities for shorter periods of study — including two- or three-week seminars, four- to eight-week summer internships and 10- to 16-week quarter programs — add to the traditional semester and academic year offerings.

Broad range of subjects

The 200 UC Davis students studying abroad this spring will explore subjects from introductory Spanish in Madrid, Spain, to pharmaceutical chemistry in Taipei, Taiwan.

Some 1,100 UC Davis students study abroad each year. In all, UC Davis offers more than 60 programs led by our own instructors in 37 countries, and students can also go abroad through the University of California Education Abroad Program and independent provider programs.

New UC Davis programs for fall include organic chemistry in Nottingham, England, and Arabic language and culture in Meknes, Morocco. Others will have students traveling to Argentina, Australia, Italy and Mexico to learn about language and culture; travel writing, film and Australian culture; and health issues.

New organic chemistry program

Freshman Gabriela Chavez of Los Angeles, a biochemical engineering major, is signed up for the 13-week organic chemistry program on the campus of the University of Nottingham, a leader in sustainable chemistry.

"I can still graduate in four years," says Chavez, "as well as learn about a different culture, creating a broader professional network and growing as a person overall."

Major requirements and field trips

Participants like Chavez can complete the organic chemistry sequence required for chemistry, chemical engineering and food science majors as well as organic chemistry requirements for professional schools. With the optional research internship in campus labs, students can earn up to 19 units.

While Chavez is looking forward to focusing on organic chemistry, the program also has a field-trip course that includes visits to Isaac Newton's birthplace, science museums on London’s Exhibition Road and Cambridge University.

"It’s a way to see England through the lens of science and chemistry," says Jena Hatch, a program advisor and coordinator for UC Davis Study Abroad.