Fewer college students complete their degrees without spending some of their studies in a foreign college and taking advantage of such a once-in-a-lifetime experience. More and more students are looking to study abroad for a year, a semester, or just a few months. The top universities around the globe compete for their attention and enrollment. So we decided that each deserves an educational review. Each university is unique and each one has areas of education that complement certain majors for certain students while offering quality programs.
- England’s Oxford University and Cambridge University share legendary world-class reputations. They rank high in Arts & Humanities, Life Sciences & Medicine, Engineering & Technology, and Social Sciences & Management. Both schools are beautifully situated on romantically classic campuses. Though steeply-priced, tuition is comparable to the best American private schools.
- More than 21 percent of Australian university students are international in origin. For example, Sydney’s University of New South Wales houses Australia’s ranked MBA program. And, its heavy research reputation comes from educational reviews of its strengths in photovoltaic, solar energy, and quantum computing. UNSW also provides international housing at reasonable costs.
- Sweden’s KTH Royal Institute and Lund University are highly ranked among global universities, both in many of the same fields although Lund ranks higher in classroom teaching in some educational review surveys. Courses may or may not be in Swedish, and the cost of living is high. But, Swedish universities rank high in technology fields, medicine, and life and natural sciences.
- Canada’s Universite de Montreal has a large enrollment with lower tuition for international than domestic students. Its Quebec campus holds classes in French and excels in Social Sciences & Management as well as Arts & Humanities.
- In South Korea, Sungkyunkwan University has been educating South Koreans and international students since 1398. Its MBA program is taught in English at very reasonable tuition. The program emphasizes innovation and encourages students to enter dual majors.
- The Universidade de São Paulo is Brazil’s oldest and hosts a prestigious Law School established in 1827. It does not charge undergraduate domestic students any tuition. Its campuses are spread throughout the state of São Paulo, instructors teach in Portuguese, and the institutes for biochemistry, molecular and cellular biology, and cancer research are internationally recognized.
- Israeli universities place high in technology specialties, but the Hebrew University of Jerusalem is recognized for programs in History & Archaeology, Law, and Philosophy. The university is in the heart of Jerusalem, and while most Israelis speak English fluently, classes may be taught in a number of languages.
- Spain’s Universidad de Barcelona is connected to the prestigious Barcelona Graduate School of Economics with international students accounting for more than 90 percent of its enrollment. Students enjoy life in this ancient city overlooking the Mediterranean.
- The University of Bologna, established in 1088, is the oldest in Italy and the western hemisphere for that matter. It is a very large school with a very large number of majors and programs. There are schools as ancient as law, visual and performing arts, and archaeology and as new as Water Conservation, Marine Biology, and Women’s and Gender Studies.
- Japan is doing everything it can to attract 300,000 international students by 2020. Among the most attractive is the University of Tokyo which emphasizes on liberal arts and interdisciplinary programs with a strong sense of ethical and community responsibility.
No brief educational review can do these international opportunities justice, and space does not admit reviews of attractive programs in China, Russia, Germany, India, and more. Many of these named universities have exchange plans with fellow universities, and many American universities already sponsor full-fledged programs abroad. The cultures, the education, and the often beautiful cost and living arrangements remove the risk from the enviable experience.
