Spain, Japan, New Zealand, the Czech Republic and France: These countries have something in common on the Eastern Michigan University campus. Two upcoming fairs hosted by the university's Office of Academic Travel Programs aim to help students study in those countries and others.
The first, and largest fair is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025, on the first floor of the Student Center. Several programs will have tables set up where students can talk to representatives about the different countries and schedules and even start the application process in person.
Using a similar format to EagleFest, the student organization fair held the second week of the semester in University Park, the Study Abroad and U.S. Travel Programs Fair allows students to walk through at their leisure and approach tables promoting programs that interest them. The event will include a raffle where multiple students will have the opportunity to win a $100 application fee waiver.
Less than a month later, on Oct. 7, the Honors College will host a smaller fair from 5 to 6:30 p.m. that will start with a 20-minute presentation.
Honors College Assistant Director Nick Malendowski said this event usually draws about 50 people and is more structured. Still, it is open to any student who is interested in learning more or getting involved, regardless of whether or not they are in the Honors College. Like the Student Center fair, there will also be tables after the presentation where students can interact with people who have more information on the individual programs.
"A list of available programs can be found on the university's study abroad webpage, which is always being updated," Kristen Krug-Shaffer said. Krug-Shaffer manages program development for the university's academic travel programs. She also said there are more than 200 options for students to choose from on almost every continent.
"OK, well, maybe not Antarctica," she said.
The logistical details of different programs can vary significantly, with some programs at international, EMU-affiliated universities lasting a full semester where students can take directly transferable credits and use their EMU scholarships and financial aid to pay for the relevant fees. Other programs are shorter, like the upcoming EMU faculty-led New York City trip lasting as little as a week.
"When it comes to cost, it varies greatly," Krug-Shaffer said. She offered an example of a Scotland program that costs roughly $25,000 for a semester that includes tuition and housing. "But, if you wanted to go someplace like Spain, or, possibly, South Korea, or maybe some locations in Latin America, you can actually live abroad for something comparable to what we would charge here at EMU for a full course load."
Krug-Shaffer said even a short-term experience can be valuable.
"I honestly would say that it's even a greater opportunity for students who never had the opportunity to live on campus, because they get that opportunity to ... travel and live with a group of students," Krug-Shaffer said of the travel abroad programs. "A lot of times we have students who made ... lifelong friends on these programs."
Malendowski, who plans the Honors College fair in collaboration with Krug-Shaffer, said study abroad programs present more opportunities than simply traveling abroad with one's own agenda.
"In addition to gaining college credit," Malendowski said, "each program is a little different with how they do it, but ... you're able to get funding to go, which can help with those travel expenses, as well."
Malendowski also said students have leeway in choosing whether they'd like to be in a program with other EMU students or a program where they have independence to explore and meet new people on their own.
Reflecting on his own time studying abroad while he was an undergrad, Malendowski said it was eye-opening for him to experience a new place from an anthropological lens.
"I think it helps to see, like, just differences between how the U.S. operates compared to other countries, just how people approach different situations," Malendowski said. "A lot of times they have mealtimes that are really different, and I thought that was a really interesting, just like, small thing."
The Office of Academic Travel Programs is on the second floor of the Student Center. Contact office staff at 734-487-2424 or programs.abroad@emich.edu.
