Short-Term vs. Semester-Long Study Abroad: Which Format Is Right for Faculty and Students?
Global learning isn’t one-size-fits-all. When you think of studying abroad, typically most people- faculty and students associate it with the idea of a student going on a semester- or year-long stay in another country where they take classes that they would’ve taken anyway in another institution. But this isn’t the only study abroad option; rather than a long-term program where the student is maybe alone, there are short-term faculty-led programs, which allow students to go abroad with their faculty leader to create an environment where the students or participants get to experience what they’ve learned from their curriculum in real life.
What Is a Short-Term Faculty-Led Program?
To discuss the differences between the types, let’s start by understanding short-term faculty-led programs. Faculty-led programs typically last anywhere from 2-6 weeks. They are curated by or with the faculty member (depending on whether or not you use a provider) and are deeply embedded and connected to course material. The participants are typically the faculty member and students, and, if using a provider, they are accompanied by a guide or on-the-ground support staff to ensure the program runs smoothly.
How Faculty-Led Programs Are Structured
Faculty-led programs aren’t just about the time spent abroad; a well-designed program has 5 key components: academic vision, destination and logistics, budget, student experience, and implementation plan.
Academic Vision
When looking at your academic vision for a program, you need to consider which course or courses you’ll be offering tied to the faculty-led program. You should also consider whether you’ll be offering it to students as part of the credit requirements of their course, and further look into the requirements by your institution and study abroad office on how the faculty-led program should adhere to any regulations they may have. Lastly, and arguably the most exciting part, is considering the multidisciplinary nature and theme of the faculty-led program; this drives the areas of focus and helps create the itinerary and activities for the program.
Destination and Logistics
Once you’ve narrowed down the destinations for faculty-led programs, you need to consider a few factors to make the right choice for you and your students. Consider the level of safety, the cost-effectiveness of the destination to the needs and accessibility of students, the relevancy to your area of focus, the timing based on seasonality, and lastly consider the institution requirements and bureaucratic needs of visas, documentation, and more in order to select a destination that is exciting, accessible, and attainable.
For logistics of the itinerary itself, you’ll consider how many cities to visit, what’s feasible within the timeline, the amount of activities or free time per day, creating home bases for day trips, and then consider the mix of activities, be it field experiences, lectures, museums, or cultural activities.
Budget
When looking at the program costs and budget, here is where it is critical that we understand what is essential and what is nice to have. Flights, accommodations, transportation, activities, on-ground support, guides, insurance, meals, and classroom space are just a few of the things you’ll need to account for when creating a realistic budget for your next faculty-led program.
Accommodations alone are burdensome to consider; you’ll need to think about hotels, hostels, dorms, or even apartments to understand what is safe, comfortable, and affordable.
Student Experience
Faculty-led programs are not vacations. They are experiences that create opportunities for students to engage in experiential learning and connect their course learning and outcomes to real-world settings abroad.
This can include partnering with local colleges or universities to have unique classroom experiences; it can also be cultural events, festivals, or conferences. It can also include service-learning projects, peer-to-peer interactions, field experiences, or local integration with families to gain insider perspectives.
Implementation
The implementation happens well before and during the program itself. From enrolment levels and marketing initiatives to pre-departure preparation and even on-ground risk management and health & safety. These are critical areas that need to be ironed out well before departure to ensure a smooth program.
All of these implementation practices are for naught if you don’t establish a strong system of communication for your short-term faculty-led programs. This is absolutely essential for students, faculty, on-ground staff, faculty-led service providers, and all stakeholders, such as your institutional abroad staff. There are many ways to communicate, but the best way is through a centralized group chat, where all concerns and information can be shared.
What Is a Semester Abroad Program?
Conversely, a semester abroad program typically involves a single student going abroad for a 3-6-month immersion at a partner university or a third-party provider of higher education. Faculty is typically more advisory in this format, as they don’t travel abroad with the students.
Some benefits, of course, are that students gain independence; they experience language immersion and deeper cultural integration over time if they participate in local activities.
However, there are definite drawbacks to comparing a semester abroad with a faculty-led trip. Semester-abroad programs can limit students’ access to internationalized education. They involve key barriers, such as time constraints, financial burdens (program costs, living expenses, and lost wages), academic conflicts (rigid degree requirements and credit transfer issues), and personal challenges (language barriers, culture shock, and being far from home). Additionally, there are bureaucratic challenges stemming from visa requirements and legislative changes. Given these factors, it is important to carefully consider which type of program best supports responsible and effective internationalization of education. Institutions and students should evaluate their goals and barriers to make informed choices between faculty-led trips and semester-abroad options.
Semester Abroad vs. Faculty-Led Trip: A Side-by-Side Breakdown
| Short-Term Faculty-Led | Semester Abroad | |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | 2–6 weeks | 3–5 months or even 1 year |
| Faculty involvement | High, the faculty member is as much part of the experience as the student | Low–moderate, the faculty takes on an advisory role from home, but does not go abroad |
| Cost to student | Lower, the program is shorter, and customized to the financial needs of the student. | Higher, students have to cover living expenses for an extended period and the cost of educational institutions |
| Accessibility | High, because faculty-led programs are entirely customizable you can find activities to fit all majors. | Requires flexibility in degree plan as not all institutions offer the necessary courses, credits for other institutions requirements |
| Language Barrier | Lower, because students will be with their classmates and faculty and if using, a guide the conversation will be in their native language allowing them to focus on the information while still having a local experience. | Higher immersion, students will be reliant on learning local language as they wont necessarily have built in support, this is an opportunity to learn but also increases the difficulty of the experience. |
| Logistical Complexity | Moderate, FLPs are fully customizable so they can be as simple and complex as you’d like, what changes is the impact on learning and on the students. The complexities can easily be offset if you use a provider for a FLP | High, semesters abroad require institutional partnerships, which limits the places in which students can go study abroad and also increased the level of bureaucratic steps needed to go abroad. |
| Program Design | Fully customizable and supported. If you use a faculty-led service provider you’ll have the program fully tailored to your course outcomes and have support, pre, during and post departure to ensure the safety and smoothness of your program. | Students must self-mange participation, this means that it is up to the students individually to take part in cultural events, social immersion, education activities and manage their safety on the ground. |
Top Benefits of Faculty-Led Study Abroad Programs
When running an FLP, it’s important that the faculty-led program benefits students and faculty, too. While the benefits are tangible and intangible, there are crucial academic benefits.
Academic Cohesion & Curriculum Alignment
Faculty-led programs are fully customizable, so whether you’re offering the program in one course or many, you can ensure it is relevant to all students. Additionally, you can review your institutional requirements to see whether it can be applied toward credits, and then go further into multidisciplinary coursework to tie multiple themes across courses into a single program. In this sense, learning becomes incredibly intentional, and the course content is designed around the destination.
Accessibility and Inclusivity
Faculty-led programs are in essence designed to make internationalized education accessible. They are short-term to prevent students with time constraints from being unable to participate in the program, when they may not be able to dedicate months on end to a semester abroad. Similarly, because of their customizability and length, they become comparatively much more affordable, as program costs vary and can be adjusted to meet students’ financial needs.
Faculty Expertise on the Ground
When you go to the Colosseum in Rome, it’s beautiful and magical, but you may miss the history and critical lessons associated with the Roman Empire and why it’s relevant beyond its beauty. With a faculty-led program, the faculty member is on-site to provide context only a faculty member in that field can. Additionally, if you use a local provider, they can enrich this knowledge with local experiences and insights, helping deepen students’ understanding.
Stronger Student-Faculty Relationships
There is a special bond that forms when you experience another culture together; it creates a shared bond and collective memories woven into the experience in a way that cannot be replicated. The shared experience fosters mentorship and lifelong learning through these short-term faculty-led programs.
The Right Program Is the One That Gets Students There
Regardless of format, the benefit is the same: students have the opportunity to internationalize their education and become more aware, perceptive, curious, and well-rounded people who can apply their learning and knowledge across cultures and beyond borders. Both formats have proven value; the key differentiator between the two is faculty involvement. The question is, are you ready for the experience?
Ready to design your faculty-led program? Explore our destinations and contact our team to customize your next faculty-led program!