Studying abroad can be your gateway to the best jobs, graduate programs, and life experiences that the world has to offer. Spending time abroad can expand your educational horizons and introduce you to friends from around the world—but how do you know whether the choice is right for you?
For students who are ambitious, adventurous, and seeking to embrace the best education possible, studying abroad in Italy can be a transformative experience. A historic city like Rome offers a rich, cultural setting to expand the minds and passions of every student. If you’re looking to enhance your university experience, here are three signs that you’re ready to take the leap into a top international university!
1. You Believe Your Education Should Extend Beyond the Classroom
Modern education is about much more than textbooks and lectures. At an international campus in Italy, you can learn valuable life lessons in independence and social responsibility as you explore a new country and broaden your cultural understanding. The John Cabot University (JCU) campus lies in the center of Italy’s iconic capital city, giving students the chance to experience new customs, foods, languages, and people.
Along with valuable life experience, an international education enriches your studies by giving you firsthand access to important cultural and historical landmarks. Those who study in Rome in the field of art history will learn to identify, analyze, and interpret various works of art from both ancient times and today’s modern world. Whether or not you pursue art history as your field of study, attending a university in Rome is an amazing opportunity to see some of the city’s age-old architectural monuments like the Sistine Chapel, the Colosseum, and Vatican City.
If you recognize the unparalleled learning opportunities that come from immersive experiences like these, study abroad programs are an excellent choice for you.
2. Are You a Passionate Leader Ready to Make Change?
According to the research firm International Consultants for Education and Fairs (ICEF), “tomorrow’s leaders study overseas today.” The firm’s influential Erasmus study in 2013 found that international education is key to the development of today’s most capable leaders and well-rounded global citizens.
ICEF cites “transversal skills” - curiosity, problem-solving, tolerance, and confidence - as important traits you can gain from studying abroad. It also shows that study-abroad students display higher values for these traits before their exchange starts. By the time they return, the difference in these values increases by an average of 42 percent compared with students who did not pursue study abroad terms.
You may recognize some of these traits within yourself already. When you study abroad in Italy, you’ll have opportunities to hone your leadership skills in extra-curricular clubs and international events, along with exciting internship opportunities. For example, at JCU, you’ll be able to attend a Leadership Training Retreat, run for student government, and even help support equality awareness through the university’s Women’s Leadership Initiative.
3. Study Abroad in Italy if You Want to Secure Top Graduate Opportunities
“Given our ever-globalizing world economy, we need young people who are genuinely inter-culturally aware,” says professor John Plews of Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Canada, after researching the impact of study abroad experiences on students. “It creates more employable citizens who are better equipped to lead countries in a global economy.”
Various academic and market research studies support this claim. The ICEF 2014 survey of more than 80,000 employers and recent graduates found that within five years of graduation, students who had international experience were 23 percent more likely to be employed than their peers who hadn’t studied abroad.
JCU’s own graduate placement record shows how well our study abroad students fare. Our students are accepted to graduate programs at prestigious schools like Brown, Columbia, and Harvard in the US, as well as Cambridge, Oxford, London School of Economics, and King’s College London in the UK.
Whether you study abroad for a summer session, a year, or longer, your time in Rome will add weight to your resume and better position you for career success upon graduation.
Are you ready for a study abroad experience at an English language university in Italy?
Contact John Cabot University to learn more!
