“I still see the impact of my trip in my daily life today,” said Abigail Blaes, graduate student at Missouri State University. She took the study away trip of a lifetime to Northern Ireland in summer 2018. 

“I have a different perspective of the world now,” Blaes said. 

Her 10-day trip focused on studying the resolution of the Northern Ireland Troubles. The Troubles occurred from 1968–1998, but the scars of the conflict remain today. 

“We met with survivors of the bombings and shootings,” Blaes said. “They told us about their loved ones who died and took us to the places where they were killed. It was an immersive, heartbreaking experience.” 

The office of study away programs offers short-term, semester and year-long study away trips throughout the year.  

The standards 

Missouri State provides students with the highest quality programs. 

The Forum on Education Abroad gave Missouri State’s programs its stamp of approval. The programs went through a series of reviews and passed the Quality Improvement Program review (QUIP). 

The process included: 

• A self-study 
• Site visits from representatives of The Forum on Education Abroad 
• Peer review reports 
• Forum review panel 

Meeting these standards ensures Missouri State’s study abroad program will continue to thrive. 

“Everyone should have the opportunity to study abroad,” Blaes said. “There’s no better teacher of cultural competence than the actual experience.”