Media Credit: Christina Rowland/ NT Daily Joan Hubbert talks to Heather Johnson, Haslet senior, about studying abroad while fellow student Jeremy Tantibanchachai, Dallas junior, signs up for more information on Hong Kong at the Study Abroad Fair Wednesday afternoon in the One O'Clock Lounge. [Click to enlarge]

Sandra Spencer, director of women's studies, spent Wednesday afternoon sitting behind a table in the One O'Clock Lounge answering questions about her class, which takes students through Northern England and Scotland. Spencer took part in the International Studies Abroad Fair.

"We wanted to let students know about the opportunities that exist for them to study abroad," said Mary Beth Butler, director of the Study Abroad Center. "I think a lot of students don't realize that studying abroad is a possibility so we're trying to get the word out."

The fair featured representatives from both faculty-led programs and outside provider programs.

"We get everybody together in one place and at one time and check out a variety of opportunities," Valerie Borgfield, international education advisor, said. "This gives you an opportunity to talk to the faculty members that will be teaching the programs and taking you where you'll be going. People like to go with a professor they like, so this gives a chance to meet with them personally."

Students who participate in faculty-led programs pay NT tuition in addition to airfare and other costs. Students taking Spencer's five-week course pay $5,500 for airfare, all accommodations, all breakfast meals and most other meals, all entrance fees and tours.

Outside providers vary on cost, depending on where a student studies. The American Institute for Foreign Studies puts all costs into one general payment. The institute also offers as many as 250,000 scholarships per year.

"There's a lot of stuff included in the price," said Steven Farkas, Great West Regional program coordinator for the institute. "It's not like students have to find their own place or find their own food. We do that for them."

The institute offers general courses in other countries, but some courses are customized to fit NT degree plans. Most students earn between 12 and 18 credits through the institute. Orientations for a different language in another country occasionally qualify as foreign language credits.

"The programs are all different and offer the students to take the classes in English or in a foreign language," Farkas said. "There's a chance to learn a language and become proficient in addition to the cultural experience."

NT departments represented at the fair included political science, English, merchandising and marketing, Spanish, geography, social work and the college of music. Spencer's students travel throughout northern Britain from May to July.

"We have class sometimes outside with sheep, in the rain, in a cave off the Scottish coast," Spencer said. "We've held class in Prince's Gardens in Edinburgh. We try to immerse students in culture as much as we can."

On one occasion, Spencer and her students were in a Scottish pub and a person sitting near them began singing "Rouges of the Nation." Spencer said that within seconds, everyone in the pub joined in. She said it moved her so much she looked up the song when she returned to the United States.

"We spend a lot of times looking at things, seeing things and experiencing things," she said. "It's experiences like that that keep me going back. These are the kinds of things you can't replicate for students on campus."

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