During academic year 2013-2014, Study Away Programs will begin implementation of new software designed to ease the general study away application process for all students. Most especially, however, Study Away believes that underrepresented groups will benefit from a more coherent, streamlined process – breaking down barriers to education abroad opportunities is amongst the most important missions of this office.
At various points during the new online application process – sometimes after acceptance into a program, sometimes before application to a specific program — Missouri State University students will be required to learn about and consider diversity and inclusion-related issues as they relate to education abroad. Topics include, but are not limited to, subjects like available financial resources and budgeting for study abroad, LGBTQ concerns while abroad, going overseas with a visible or non-visible disability, race and ethnicity while traveling and studying away, and gender identities in different cultural contexts.
Study Away anticipates that all students will benefit from thinking about the study away experience as a whole, and evaluating their own self-identity constructs while abroad, but also hopes that it has taken one more important step towards ensuring that MSU students from diverse social, ethnic, economic, and educational backgrounds have equal access to and are assisted in taking advantage of the vast benefits of international education.