Enrollment in study abroad programs affiliated with UW-Madison has risen significantly in the past year, with numbers reflecting about a 20 percent increase in students overseas this spring compared to spring 2001.
Based on applications already received for fall 2002 programs, officials are also projecting enrollment next semester as greater than that of fall 2001, according to Joan Raducha, director of the Office of International Studies and Programs.
\There's been a steady growth in study abroad over the last several years,"" Raducha said. ""But this number is certainly above and beyond step increases that we had had.""
Two hundred and nine students enrolled in spring 2001 study abroad programs while 253 enrolled in spring 2002 programs, Raducha said. In addition, 123 students enrolled in fall 2001 programs while 106 enrolled in fall 2000 programs.
The events of Sept. 11 do not seem to have negatively affected participation, considering many of the application deadlines were shortly after the terrorist attacks and numbers still increased.
Raducha said she was ""not 100 percent sure"" why enrollment was rising, but said the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks had increased students' desires to learn more about the world.
""It makes you realize the prism you need to look at when you're looking at a world event,"" she said.
The enrollment in study abroad programs has been evenly distributed among programs in a variety of locations, Raducha said. The program in Israel is an exception in that it has seen a ""noticeable"" decrease over the past two years, she said.
Lorisa Hasenbush, a UW-Madison sophomore spending next semester in Madrid, Spain, said her decision to study abroad in a post-Sept. 11 world made her parents ""really nervous."" She said she originally had wanted to study in Israel, but her parents would not let her.
Raducha said she had spoken with many parents worried about their children spending time abroad.
""I don't want to minimize the fact that students and certainly parents have concerns about going overseas,"" she said. ""The knowledge that these are well-constructed programs has put some of those concerns to rest.""
Studying abroad is a time of self-discovery for many students, but being overseas during the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history offered a unique situation.
""I think [Sept. 11] really deepened their experience,"" Raducha said.
Anna McCullough, a UW-Madison sophomore studying in Freiburg next semester, said the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks had not affected her decision to spend time abroad.
""Occasions like that are so rare that you have to go about your day-to-day life and still follow your dreams,"" she said.
