Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Date of Award

12-2020

Document Type

Honors Paper

Degree Name

Psychology-BS

Department

Psychology

Advisor

Dr. Michele Acker

First Committee Member

Dr. Meredith Frey

Second Committee Member

Dr. Karen Steigman

Keywords

Study Abroad, International Travel, Intrinsic Benefits, Global Perspective, Psychology

Subject Categories

Higher Education | International and Comparative Education | Other Psychology

Abstract

As the world is becoming more interconnected, the importance of having a well-rounded, global education is necessary. To meet those needs, many students are electing to study abroad during their time in college. Although research has been done to examine the direct benefits of studying abroad, there has been little research done to differentiate the impacts of short-term and long-term study abroad. This research looked at how students reflected on both their short-term and long-term study abroad experiences and it examined the benefits of both lengths of travel. A quantitative analysis was done to analyze the benefits of short-term study abroad, and a qualitative analysis was done to analyze the benefits of long-term study abroad.

The sample data were gathered from Otterbein University students who had participated in study abroad experiences within the last two years. Students who studied abroad short-term participated in a survey known as the Global Perspectives Inventory (GPI) while students who studied abroad long-term participated in interviews.

While results yielded that participants believed they benefited directly from their study abroad experiences, there was no evidence to suggest either long-term or short-term was more beneficial than the other.

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